F​irst things first: what we are discussing today is only a teeny, tiny piece of a vast and complicated body of information. If you are interested in learning about these things in more detail, you can find a list of suggested books and resources that explain the brain and interpersonal neurobiology much better than we can here!
 
When humans have a social interaction, there are measurable changes that occur to our brains and nervous systems. These changes in our brains are part of a growing field of scientific research known as interpersonal neurobiology (IN). IN has contributed a lot to the type of equine assisted counseling practiced by the ECC counselors. It is thought that the same neurobiological effects that people experience when interacting with other humans also happen when interacting with other social animals like horses.
 
All animals, including humans, have mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that helps us recognize and empathize with emotion in other living things. There are millions of them in our brains. They enable us to feel sad when we see someone cry, embarrassed when we see someone humiliated, or happy when we see someone smile and laugh. In interpersonal neurobiology this is known as resonance. Researchers and clinicians suggest that the way our brains and bodies respond to another person’s emotional state facilitates the awareness needed for our brains to activate new neural pathways—which in turn enables us to learn new ways to self-regulate and manage our emotional experiences. So when a counselor interacts with his or her client in a way that is empathetic, open, and accepting, they are essentially giving the client’s brain an opportunity to learn self-awareness and self-acceptance.
 
Some people have theorized that horses have millions or billions more mirror neurons than people do, making them experts at understanding nonverbal communication. All those mirror neurons enable horses to empathize even more than people do. In counseling, the horse can pick up on emotions that human clients and human counselors might not be aware of yet. It also means that humans and horses can engage in social relationships on a neurological level; although facial expressions and language might be different, the horse’s and human’s brains can respond to each other and build a relationship. When we consider that IN is based on the idea that a counselor’s empathy and non-judgment can help a person to heal, imagine how much someone can gain from interacting with an animal that has an even greater ability to be empathetic and accepting.
 
A lot of the field of IN is based on what little we know about the human brain and a lot of theory by experts. However, more research is being conducted all the time and there is an ever-growing body of information about things like mirror neurons, resonance, and the social brain. If you would like to learn in more detail about these topics, we suggest looking into the resources below.
 

• Dr. Dan Siegel: http://www.drdansiegel.com/
• Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation (Dan Siegel)
• A General Theory of Love (Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, & Richard Lannon)
• Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential -- And Endangered (Bruce Perry & Maia Szalavitz)
• Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond (Meg Daley Olmert)
• Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions (Jaak Panksepp)
• Zen Mind, Zen Horse: The Science and Spirituality of Working with Horses (Allan Hamilton)

We would like to introduce you to more of our equine therapy partners. Doodles, Rose, Hank, and Phyllis all live together in the same pasture. Each is very different from each other but whether they are working individually with a client or together as a herd, they have all had incredible impact on the lives of the clients they work with.

Many clients notice Rose almost immediately. With her golden coat, thick tail, and sassy attitude she is quite eye-catching. Rose is the boss of her herd, meaning that she is in charge of keeping herself and all of the other horses safe from danger. She tends to be cautious around people and situations she is unfamiliar with and it can take a lot to win her trust. Because she is the boss, many clients have seen her move the other horses around the pasture. That sometimes appears to be mean and aggressive to clients. This can open up conversations about everything from healthy boundaries to bullying to feeling misunderstood. Rose is particularly popular with teen girls that are drawn to her looks and distinctive personality.

Phyllis is a quiet, calm presence in the pasture. She may be less interactive than some of her herdmates, so clients sometimes find it a challenge to understand what Phyllis is thinking and feeling. However, many people find that spending time with her helps them to feel less anxious. Tara* had an extensive trauma history and struggled with feeling constantly rejected in her relationships. Phyllis, however, would often choose to stay close to Tara during her sessions, even when more dominant horses tried to move her away. Tara felt comforted by Phyllis's desire to be near her and started to feel more confident in her human relationships, as well. She also found that her anxiety decreased as she continued to work with Phyllis. 

Doodles worked for many years as a show horse and as a therapeutic riding horse for our partner organization, Wings of Hope. He now works exclusively in counseling. He has seen and done a lot of different things in his life and has learned to be laid-back and relaxed in almost any situation. Doodles particularly excels when working with anxious children because he can be patient no matter how nervous or frustrated they get. Jason* was an teenage boy who worked with Doodles to work on managing his anxiety. Jason would work with Doodles every week in the round pen, communicating to Doodles to move in different ways. Doodles was very sensitive to Jason's feelings and would often demonstrate how Jason was feeling through the way Doodles would move. Through working with Doodles, Jason learned that by relaxing his muscles and breathing deeply, not only could he change how Doodles responded to him, but he could also control his anxiety rather than feeling controlled by it.

Hank quickly becomes a favorite of anyone who meets him, whether that's a client or staff member. Although he is one of the biggest horses in his pasture, he is very gentle and seems to love just hanging with people. He is also quickly noticeable because of his light and splashy coloring. Despite Hank's larger size, his clients tend to choose him because he seems safe to them. During his first session, Marcus*, a military veteran, felt immediately drawn to Hank. Having felt disconnected and disinterested in other people, seeing Hank interact with the horses began to motivate Marcus to want to seek his own "human" herd in which he felt accepted. Through interacting with Hank, Marcus began to notice how Hank responded to his moods and became aware of how he may be perceived by others in his human relationships. As Marcus' awareness of himself with Hank began to grow, Marcus reported feeling more connected in his relationship with his wife. Marcus also struggled to go out to crowded stores and other public places. Knowing that he would always be watchful, Marcus observed the horses' responses to potential threats in their environment and began to emulate their way of being both alert while relaxed simultaneously and began to feel safe to spend more time in public places.

There is still time to help Rose, Doodles, Phyllis, and Hank continue their work with clients by becoming an angel and supporting our Be An Angel fundraiser! Just $10 ensures that the horses can participate in the session. Go to http://beanangelecc.causevox.com before midnight on New Year's Eve to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Angel Fund, held by our non-profit partner Wings of Hope.
 
*Client names and some details have been changed to protect client identity

​Bill* was an Army veteran who had served two tours of duty in Iraq. After being discharged in 2009, Bill had trouble readjusting to civilian life. He found it hard to sleep at night and had frequent nightmares. He felt disconnected and detached from his family. Bill angered easily both at home, where he noticed that his daughter avoided him, and at work where he struggled to get along with his boss and coworkers. He began to feel depressed and hopeless. He did not like to talk about his experiences in Iraq and tried to avoid any reminders of his deployments. Bill did not like going to stores or movie theaters. He spent much of his time at home playing video games. Bill’s family worried about him. They tried to talk to him, but he just pushed them away. 

 ​Bill tried various other therapies but these therapies did not help him feel like himself again. With encouragement from his wife, Bill began equine assisted counseling. Upon walking into the pasture during the first session, Bill felt more at ease outside among the horses. He found himself drawn to a horse named Jake. Jake’s relaxed demeanor and friendly nature calmed Bill. Throughout the course of Bill and Jake’s sessions, Bill began to become aware of his own feelings and experiences by watching Jake’s responses to him. Bill believed that he could be himself with Jake knowing the horse would never judge him for his feelings or deployment experiences. Bill would often say that he felt safe around Jake and could let his guard down knowing that Jake would always be aware of any potential threat. While in Jake’s presence, Bill began to feel safe enough to talk with his counselor about some of his experiences.

By watching Jake and the other horses interact and with the help of his counselor, Bill was able to identify strategies that he could utilize to feel at ease in the world again. He began to understand that although he would never be the same person as he was before enlisting, he could find his new normal. As Bill began to feel more and more connected to Jake, he noticed that his desire to connect with his wife and daughter was reignited. Bill began to reach out to friends and family members who he felt had abandoned him. Today Bill feels like himself. Bill now coaches his daughter’s softball team, goes to karaoke with his coworkers, and has become a mentor for other veterans.

Bill represents millions of veterans who are suffering from the emotional trauma of serving the country in more than a decade of war and as well as veterans from wars past. We have all heard stories of the trauma these veterans endure and know all too well that many of them are suffering. We would like to think we have the resources to serve these veterans and help ensure that they have a guided path back into civilian life. The sad truth, though, is that our mental health services fail to reach too many like Bill.

These veterans are in need of care that is affordable, accessible, and administered in low-stigma settings. It is estimated that at least 30% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans alone suffer from PTSD, depression, or traumatic brain injury. In addition, approximately 22 veterans a day commit suicide. Many of these individuals go untreated or drop out of treatment prematurely. At ECC, we have found that our clients feel more at ease in our tranquil outdoor setting and are motivated to attend counseling making our dropout rate much lower than other forms of therapy.

Marshall may be the most visually intimidating horse in the pasture. At 1,600 pounds, he is the largest member of the herd. Marshall is known around the barn for using his size to his advantage—he knows how big he is and that humans can’t make him do anything he does not want to do! However, despite Marshall's size, even the smaller clients can get him to cooperate when they communicate in the right way. Horses of Marshall's size are frequently chosen by clients who have experienced trauma. One of Marshall's former teenage clients chose him specifically for his size - he made her feel both challenged and safe while working him. When Zoe* would come for her weekly session with Marshall, she often felt very anxious from her day at school. Marshall would often act protective of Zoe and refuse to allow the other horses to come near her. Through her work with Marshall, Zoe became more aware when her anxiety increased and learned ways to calm herself down.

Corky is one of our smallest horses, but he has a big attitude. He has very specific likes and dislikes that his clients must work to become aware of to have a trusting relationship with him. Corky is frequently chosen by children due to his small size. Jennifer* was one of the children who chose Corky as her counseling partner. Jennifer came to counseling to work on her anger and aggressive behavior towards siblings. Jennifer immediately noticed that Corky was separated from the rest of the herd and stated that she would like to work with him because she likes to be alone, too. Jennifer would process her difficulty trusting people through her discussion of Corky's feelings. Discussing her experiences as Corky's experiences enabled Jennifer to feel safe to process her feelings and identify healthy ways of expressing her anger and interacting with others. 
 
You can help Marshall, Sherlock, Vannie, and Corky continue their work with clients by becoming an angel and supporting our Be An Angel fundraiser. Just $10 ensures that the horses can participate in the session. Go to http://beanangelecc.causevox.com to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Angel Fund, held by our non-profit partner Wings of Hope.
 
*Client names and some details have been changed to protect client identity

Star and Coco have become the unofficial mascots of Equine Connection Counseling. Most of the pictures on our Facebook and Instagram feature these special miniature horses. Who better to be the (adorable) faces of ECC than the equine therapy partners that work with almost one quarter of our clients each week?

When Star and Coco first arrived at the barn, few would have guessed that they would become the affectionate, patient, intuitive therapy partners that they are today. They had gotten used to spending more time with other horses than with people and were suspicious of almost everyone that approached them. It took several weeks of attention from Dr. Sheade and the equine specialists for Star and Coco to start enjoying the company of humans.

These days, "the minis" are known for their calm and nurturing attitudes, especially with anxious and depressed children. As many horse people will tell you, horses tend to be scared of loud noises, flapping fabric, and large moving objects. For Star and Coco, however, those types of things are a normal part of their job. Not only are they unafraid of bop bags, flying balls, and feather boas, they will approach a child playing with those things out of curiosity. Star will allow a child to dress her up with that boa and some bows. Coco's favorite toy is the sandbox -- when a child is playing in the sand, Coco will stand right next to them and blow sand around with her nose.

A great example of the impact Star and Coco can have is their work with Sam*. Sam's dad serves in the military. His parents brought Sam to counseling because he had difficulty getting along with kids his own age and often felt sad and angry. He had years of problem behaviors including tantrums and trying to hurt himself. When he first began working with Star, Coco, and Dr. Sheade in play therapy, he was very unaware of himself and how his behavior affected those around him. After a few weeks, he began to notice that Star and Coco wanted to be close to him when he was calm and quiet--and he felt comforted by their presence. Sam learned how to make friends by befriending Star and Coco. He brushed them and fed them snacks. Soon his parents began reporting that Sam was acting more nurturing toward the family dog and that he had started making friends at school. Today Sam continues to do well and is finding healthy ways to relate to others.

Sam is just one of the dozens of children that Star and Coco have had a positive impact on. They help kids learn empathy and self-regulation. They provide nurturing and acceptance to children who have experienced abuse and neglect. The provide fun and laughter to kids who are often sad and lonely. As Dr. Sheade likes to say, Star and Coco are two in a million.

If you want to help Star and Coco continue their amazing work with kids like Sam, you can donate to the Angel Fund to provide affordable equine assisted counseling to clients with financial hardship. Go to http://beanangelecc.causevox.com to make a tax-deductible contribution.

*Sam's name has been changed to protect his identity.

In addition to trauma and military veterans, one of ECC’s largest populations served is at-risk children and teens. In Texas, teens with mental health concerns are one of the groups with the highest need and lowest resources. The percent of Texas high school students who attempted suicide in 2011 was higher than the national average, but the amount of public spending on mental health care has declined each year. At ECC, about 25% of our clients are adolescents. They are often dealing with concerns such as depression, self-injury, anxiety, aggression, and trauma.
 
When working with teenagers, relationship-based and trauma-informed approaches are considered to be very effective. ECC’s method of equine assisted counseling is a great fit for teens because of its emphasis on the relationship with the horse. The presence of a horse in session can:

1. Increase the teen’s motivation to attend session
2. Facilitate the teen’s trust of the counselor
3. Provide nurturing and acceptance

For many of the teenagers that come to ECC, the horse becomes an important source of comfort and acceptance—things that can be difficult to find in middle and high school. The relationship with the horse becomes a way to both give and receive nurturing. Maladaptive patterns of behavior also become apparent through the teen’s interactions with the horse, but the non-judgmental nature of horses creates a safe space for the client to become aware of and change those behaviors.
 
EAC can be a great option for teens because unlike traditional therapies, there is less pressure to talk about their lives and their struggles. This helps clients feel more comfortable in session while still doing valuable work through their relationship with the horse. Caregivers frequently report positive changes within the first few sessions. Psychological assessments show that many teens we see at ECC experience significant positive change after just a few months of counseling.
 
We love getting to work with these teenagers and providing them with a place where they get to be themselves and experience positive relationships with the horses. If you would like to know more about our work with adolescents, comment below or use the contact form to get in touch with us.

In August, ECC President and Founder Hallie Sheade earned her Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. Her dissertation examined the effectiveness of her model of equine assisted counseling (called Relational Equine-Partnered Counseling, or REPC) in treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We hope that by sharing an overview of the study and its conclusions you can better understand what we do at ECC.

REPC is based on the idea that people want to build positive and nurturing relationships, which facilitate growth and healing. Through the relationship with the horse, clients have the opportunity to create a new pattern for relationships and experience security needed to process and heal from trauma. Activities and techniques in REPC are designed to target specific goals such as relationship-building, self-regulation and mindfulness, and creativity. These activities may include choosing a horse, haltering the horse, leading the horse, grooming the horse, being with the horse, moving the horse, bathing the horse, and relaxation activities.

Participants in the study were military veterans with war zone-related trauma. Each veteran was asked complete a baseline phase prior to starting equine assisted counseling, during which they were evaluated each week using PTSD assessments. The second phase was to participate in REPC equine assisted counseling sessions for up to 18 weeks. The third phase tested each person’s PTSD symptoms for several weeks after counseling ended.

Some of the conclusions and implications of the study are:

• Participants perceived interactions with the horses as beneficial to them or as an important factor to their improvement.
• REPC may be beneficial in reducing severity and symptoms of PTSD after a triggering event, meaning participants who were “triggered” felt better more quickly while participating in REPC.
• Participants appeared to be highly motivated to attend sessions with the horses.

Dr. Sheade’s research is one of the few studies on equine assisted therapies with veterans. More research on the effectiveness of equine assisted counseling is needed. REPC is a unique, innovative approach to the field and we hope to do more research in the future.


Happy Veteran’s Day! Thank you to all veterans and their families for your service to our country. We are proud to serve you!

Previously we discussed how to set limits so that children and teens feel understood but also take responsibility for inappropriate behavior. In this post we are talking about how to provide consequences when the child continues to act out disrespectfully or harmfully.

First, communicate consequences so that the child understands they are responsible for their own choices. The great thing about establishing consequences like this is that they can be delivered in a way that takes the parent/caregiver out of the position of being the “bad guy.” Instead of saying, “I’m grounding you” (which makes it about you, the parent/caregiver), you might tell them:

“By choosing to continue hitting me, you are choosing to lose video game time today.”

Remember that children’s brains comprehend things differently than adult brains. The younger the child is, the more immediate and short-term the consequence should be. It won’t make sense to a 4 year old why something they did on Tuesday means they can’t play video games on Friday. Allow every day to be a new day and expect the best from your child. If they lost video game privileges on Tuesday, assume they have them back on Wednesday unless they hit you again on Wednesday. Then go through the steps of A-C-T and offer consequences if the child continues to hit you.

Older children and teens are better able to understand long-term consequences, but try to keep the consequence in proportion to the behavior. For example, two weeks without the car might not be appropriate for coming home 15 minutes after curfew one time, but it might be appropriate if they come home an hour after curfew several nights a week. Remember to phrase it in a way that emphasizes the teen’s responsibility in the situation:

“By choosing to come home after curfew the last three nights, you chose to not have the car for the rest of the week.”

Sometimes the consequence you tried to give was not effective in stopping the child’s behavior. If you were firm and consistent when communicating the limit and doling out the consequence, it may be necessary to try a different consequence. A child may not be affected by losing TV time but they might think twice about hitting if they know they will lose a particular toy for the rest of the day. Some older children and teens may feel more responsible for their actions if they help to choose the consequences. If there are certain behaviors they engage in frequently (such as not finishing homework or staying out past curfew), try sitting down with them and coming up with appropriate consequences together. This can encourage them to be more mindful of their actions and responsible for the consequences.

A-C-T limit setting and consequences are meant to teach children self-regulation and responsibility. By learning to take ownership of their mistakes, your children can grow into confident and resilient adults.

This post is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered to be counseling or a replacement for mental health treatment from a licensed professional. We encourage all parents and caregivers to seek services from an appropriately credentialed therapist to address concerns about your child's behavior or demeanor.

It can be intimidating to attend your first (or even fifth or tenth) counseling session. Therapy is a mysterious process and you may not know what to expect from your counselor, the horses, or the process in general. This series will explain more about the counseling process at Equine Connection Counseling. Keep in mind that everyone’s experience in counseling is different and these are just a few common elements that most of our clients will come across in their sessions. 

In Part 1, we explained a little about what happens as someone begins counseling at ECC. In Part 2, we are talking about things clients might experience in their sessions after they have been coming for a few weeks:

Emotions. Even though humans are wired to feel emotions, people struggling with things like depression, anxiety, PTSD, anger, or sadness learn to “turn off” or “numb” their feelings in order to lessen the overwhelming impact those feelings can have. It is a common coping strategy, but numbing the bad feelings means the good feelings get turned off also. Horses have a hard time being around people that aren’t aware of their own feelings. To horses, feelings are the instincts that keep them safe and they rely on the feelings other horses have to be aware of potential danger, yummy food, or that cranky herdmate that they should avoid. Horses act differently around people who are aware of their own feelings than people who are numb to their feelings. This can be helpful for clients that want to get in touch with their feelings again, because the horses will immediately respond when someone feels an emotion. Horses often prefer to be near people who are aware of their own emotions because they are safer and more reliable herdmates.

Discomfort. We wish we could tell you that counseling is always a warm and fuzzy process. The truth is that counseling can be difficult and scary. Clients might learn things about themselves that they don’t particularly like and they might have to talk about upsetting things. They might try change habits that they’ve had for years. The ultimate goal of counseling is to help the client feel happier and healthier, and sometimes that means addressing and changing unhappy or unhealthy parts of their lives. However, talking about uncomfortable things around the horses can feel safer than talking about them in a traditional counseling office. Being around the horses can decrease stress hormones and increase “happy” hormones, so clients may experience less anxiety while talking about upsetting topics and feel calmer more quickly afterwards.

Awareness or new understanding. Because horses react authentically and in the moment, they may respond to things that the humans around them are not aware of. This includes emotions, thoughts, or physical reactions that clients didn’t notice at first. By experiencing feedback from the horses, clients often learn things about themselves and the way they handle stress that they may not have realized. This gives clients the opportunity to understand themselves better and notice how they act in their day-to-day lives. By understanding what they are experiencing and why, many clients feel better equipped to cope or to change things they are not satisfied with. Also, clients can practice working through their concerns with the horses first before trying it with people. For example, if someone is having difficulty communicating assertively with their spouse, we are likely to see that come out in their interaction with the horse. That way, we can address it in the here and now with the horse, rather than just talking about what happens outside of session. Having the chance to try communicating and relating differently with the horse helps clients feel more empowered and self-confident to try it with people.

Remember that counseling is a participation activity: you get out of therapy what you put into it! If there is something going on that worries you or that you feel uncomfortable with, your counselor will want you to bring it up to them. You have a lot of power over your own healing process and you are the only one who can tell us if something is working or not working. We encourage current and potential clients to contact us with any questions you have about the counseling process.

At ECC, we often talk about the benefits of play therapy for young children. We are proud to offer a unique type of play therapy that we call Equine Partnered Play Therapy, which was developed by Dr. Sheade. We have previously shared about a limit setting technique used in our play therapy practice, but you might still be wondering: what exactly is play therapy?

Play therapy provides children with the necessary materials to explore, process, and express feelings in a safe therapeutic environment. Children use play to make sense of the world. This is different from adults, who often talk to process things. Play therapy is built on the idea that play is a child’s language and toys are their words. How a child interacts with toys and with the therapist through play can reveal the child’s feelings, wishes, or needs. Child-centered play therapy is a method that allows the child to direct the content and process of the play session. By letting the child take the lead, he or she is empowered to explore and express his/herself as well as build empathy, problem solving skills, and self-esteem.

Equine Partnered Play Therapy (EPPT) is Dr. Sheade’s method of equine-assisted play therapy. It uses the evidenced-based techniques of child-centered play therapy and incorporates horses into the counseling process. Working with our miniature horses provides children with the opportunity to build relationships and gain awareness. The therapist can gain information about the child from the way he/she interacts with the horses. The horses also provide feedback to the child about his/her behaviors. For example, a horse may move away from a child who approaches too quickly. The therapist can reflect that the horse felt scared when the child ran towards it, increasing awareness of the horse’s feelings and how the child’s behavior affects others. The child might choose to approach the horse more slowly next time because they are now aware that moving too quickly scares the horse. These types of interactions can help a child learn self-regulation, empathy, and self-confidence.

Play therapy is a great option for children who are too young to verbally process their experience. We recommend EPPT for children ages 3-9. Some older children with developmental challenges or severe trauma may also benefit from play therapy. Concerns that can be addressed in EPPT include: attention problems and impulsiveness, anxiety/worry, acting out, anger/aggression, and many more.

As effective as EPPT can be, it is a small part of the child’s life. Therefore it is also important to us to work with the child’s family to identify appropriate techniques for behavior management and strengthening their relationship with the child. To protect the child’s privacy, the therapist will share overarching themes in the child’s play rather than specific content. This ensures that the child feels comfortable to express him/herself while also giving families the information they need to support the child’s progress. The therapist may also make recommendations or offer information about tools such as limit setting.

Want to learn how to do EPPT? Join us at our next scheduled EPPT Training Workshop. More details can be found here!
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Do you have more questions about EPPT or play therapy in general? We recommend watching the videos below from the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas; there is one for children and one for parents. For other questions, please contact us or respond in the comments below and we will be happy to help you find the answers!

Written By: Hannah Yterdal, M.S., LPC Intern (Under the Supervision of Emily Michero, Ph.D., LPC-S)