Full Description
Meet the Horse Counsellors. Survivors of trauma, loss, illness, abuse, stress, and depression can face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. However, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that horses play a crucial role in therapy for those struggling with significant psychological and emotional challenges.
Horses respond to angry, inhibited, heartbroken, defiant, and terrified clients in many different ways, often breaking through defensive barriers via their physical presence, or by pointing to areas of psychological distress not immediately apparent. The horse's response guides the treatment team, as well as the client, through the healing process.
Influenced by her own childhood trauma — where she spent seven days in a coma, awakened to a severely compromised body and brain, and rebuilt her life with the help of a horse — Michelle Holling-Brooks founded Unbridled Change, a non-profit equine-partnered therapy organisation which partners horses with individuals in need. It's within the pages of this book that she shares the inspiring stories of the horses that play active roles in counselling sessions.
Contents
Preface: Why Horses?
Introduction: The Horse Power of Stories: Equine-partnered Psychotherapy and Coaching
One: Schedule A - The Horse That Started the Journey
Two: Cocoa and Radar - Learning to Trust
Three: Delilah to Diesel - Talking off the Mask and Asking for Help
Four: Bear - I will not Leave you
Five: The Big-Boy Herd - Learning to Run and Play
Six: Cookie and Squire - Finding your Voice
Seven: Diesel in the Box - Trusting Yourself
Eight: It Takes a Herd
Appendix A: Resources on Equine-Partnered Psychotherapy
Appendix B: Horsemanship Resources
Bibliography
Index
