Taking Winning Strides with EAP/EAL
Spring 2004 CCA Newsletter Article
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is something of a newcomer to the field of psychology and counselling. It is an approach developed by Lynn Thomas and Greg Kersten through their work with adolescents in rehabilitation programs. After years of observation they discovered that clients improved their self-esteem and confidence in being active and working with horses. The results have been excellent and the field is expanding quickly.
The co-inventors of EAP have been working diligently to assure that this approach to counselling is kept on a professional basis. To this end they have been involved in the training of all EAP practitioners and through the establishment of EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association).
I became involved with what I prefer to call EAP when my friend and colleague, who has the unique combination of being a professional horsewoman with Gestalt training, decided that counselling and working with horses was an obvious combination for facilitating the process of personal growth and human development.
Since that time we have spent more and more time at her outdoor arena because we were fascinated by what we were seeing. As a result, we have committed ourselves to developing the Winning Strides team that offers EAGAL sessions to individuals, groups, and corporate teams.
Even after we completed several EAP session with various clients the seeming brevity of the 1 ½ hour sessions astonished us. Even though the pace of the session was leisurely, we found that the kinds of issues that surfaced, and the way they surfaced, was intriguing. Clients were often aware of what was surfacing for them, as well. There was so much happening that all of us were fully engrossed in the session.
Of course, we processed the sessions individually with each client. Clients often gained several insights themselves just by talking about the horse's behavior and about the approach and attitude the client had toward the horse at various times. We felt that the amount of talking was reduced considerably and the insight gained was increased, based upon our personal experience with traditional therapy.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy has a strong basis in Gestalt psychology. So, the need to be in the "here and now" and to give the client an appropriate experiment or activity that will allow him or her to work through a particular issue is one of the cornerstones of EAGAL. In order to create an appropriate experiment the combined skills of the co -facilitators - the equine professional and the psychologist/counsellor - are required so that no important aspects of the targeted exercise are missed.
Of course, because the horse will only do what the client insists, the horse does not behave in a certain way just so the client's feelings won't be hurt. The client comes to realize that if the horse is not acting the way in which s/he wants the horse to act, then it is the client who must change his or her behavior first.
Many acquaintances have asked what kind of clientele can access EAP. There seems to be some misconception that this is used only with physically and mentally challenged clients. In fact, this is not so. Therapeutic Riding is the approach used for that particular population and has been realizing positive results. EAP can be used to address any personal emotional or psychological issue. The newly acknowledged EAL (Equine Assisted Learning) approach can be used for education and professional development.
The EAP/EAL approaches are not about learning how to ride a horse. There are highly qualified riding instructors who are happy to teach you those skills. EAGAL utilizes a horse professional and a counsellor as co-facilitators and makes use of horses as the tools for individuals or groups to work out issues of self -esteem, confidence, team building, issues of authority, communicating effectively and anger management, to name a few.
EAP and EAL are experiential, fresh and non -threatening approaches to providing clients with growth and learning. The recommendations for using EAP with clients in a therapeutic setting come highly from those who have used it as a psychotherapeutic approach. EAL has been touted as a great professional development tool from corporate personnel who have participated in EAL sessions.
The Winning Strides Team
Co-facilitators
Laurie Messner
- Level III CHA Riding Instructor
- Level II EAGAL practitioner
- 20 years experience in the equine industry
- Graduate Gestalt Therapy Program
Cathie Johnson
- Certified Canadian Counsellor
- 30 years teaching experience
- Level II EAGAL practitioner
- Certified Conflict Mediator
- M.A. in Counselling Psychology (Gestalt Certificate)
Laurie lives in Nanton, Alberta and has an outdoor arena and a stable of well -trained horses. She divides her time between riding instruction and EAP sessions. Cathie lives in High River, Alberta and allots her professional time to EAGAL sessions and educational workshops.
Both Laurie and Cathie are members of the parent EAGALA and are working toward developing a Canadian EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth & Learning Association) to provide training, standard setting, and professional development for EAP teams in Canada. Cathie holds the office of President of EAGALA CAN and Laurie acts as Newsletter Chairperson and the Alberta Representative to the Board of Directors
