Equine Assisted
Play Therapy
®
We offer the opportunity of engaging in horse-related activities in an outdoor rural setting not far from our main office. Activities with the horses are individually tailored to meet the clients’ interests and abilities. We focus on fostering independence, empathy, building self-esteem, and improving social skills all within the context of a human-animal mutual relationship. Activities may include grooming horses, observing body language, cooperative games and activities, as well as a variety of other interventions.
Animal Assisted therapy is a therapeutic program that uses trained animals in play therapy sessions. Appropriately-trained therapists and animals engage with children and families primarily through non-directive play therapy, with the goals of improving children’s emotional and developmental health. Animal Assisted Play Therapy® is defined as the incorporation of an animal into a play therapy session to increase the amount of opportunities for tracking behavior and reflecting feelings. The animal serves the role of co-therapist in the session by engaging the therapeutic powers of play. It is a combination of the well-established fields of Animal-Assisted Therapy and Play Therapy. Play therapy creates a safe atmosphere where children can express themselves, try new things, learn more about how the world works, learn about social rules and restrictions, and work through their problems. For children, toys are their words and play is their conversation. Research has shown the effectiveness of play therapy as well as the use of animals for treating children with a variety of difficulties.