FAQ's

Can you describe a typical session?

During sessions, a client interacts with a horse in various ways “on the ground,” which is to say there is no riding involved. You meet with the therapist and equine specialist in the arena or round pen and you are given a task to accomplish with a horse. We facilitate the session initially, then observe interactions between you and the horse.  At the conclusion, we all talk about what happened in the session.

When you observe, what are you looking for?

The Mental Health Professional helps to draw metaphors between what is happening in the Equine Assisted Psychotherapy sessions and the other things that are happening in your life, empowering you to mine for solutions inside and outside of the horse arena. We watch the behavior of the horses for clues to gain awareness of how your behavior affects the horse, and vice versa.

What if I cannot get the horse to do the activity or I do something wrong?

In Equine Assisted psychotherapy, teaching the right or wrong way to work with a horse is not our objective. In fact, in EAP, something is wrong only if it is unsafe. In EAP, our goal is to help you overcome stumbling blocks to your growth through working with the horses. Our only expectation is that you will do each task to the best of your ability.

Speaking of safety, are these horse activities safe?

There are inherent risks in working with horses, just as there are risks involved in such activities as driving or swimming. The treatment team carefully observes all interactions between you and the horse in the session, and the role of the equine specialist is to intervene if there is a safety concern.  It is reassuring to note that statistics overwhelmingly indicate the kind of ground work we do with horses in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is safer than mounted work.

How many sessions will I need?

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is a form of “brief therapy” and typically consists of 10 to 12 approximately one-hour sessions. The course of treatment is determined by an initial assessment and your individual needs.

What will it cost?

Fees are calculated on a sliding scale basis, between $70-$95 per session.
Families are $125 per session.
Groups are scheduled for two hours and the number of participants determines session rates.