Equine-Assisted Therapy (EAT), is a treatment that includes equine activities and/or an equine environment in order to promote physical, occupational, and emotional growth in persons suffering from ADD, Anxiety, Depression, Developmental Delay, grief/loss, trauma, sex addiction, compulsive gambling, bipolar disorder and other related mental health conditions.
The goal of equine therapy is to help the patient develop needed skills and attributes, such as accountability, responsibility, self-confidence, problem-solving skills, and self-control. Equine therapy also provides an innovative milieu in which the therapist and the patient can identify and address a range of emotional and behavioral challenges.
Benefits of Equine Therapy
Many of the benefits of equine therapy are likely due to the nature of the animals with which the patient and equine therapist are interacting. Horses are typically non-judgmental, have no preconceived expectations or motives, and are highly effective at mirroring attitudes and behaviors of the humans with whom they are working. Equine Assisted Therapy helps with:
- Assertiveness
- Emotional awareness
- Empathy
- Stress tolerance
- Flexibility
- Impulse control
- Problem-solving skills
