“Horses are able to sense whether a person is calm or tense. When we come to them, they reflect our condition like a mirror.” Psychotherapy involving horses (hippotherapy) is recommended for anyone suffering from various mental and behavioral disorders. Another question is how effective it is. It decided to investigate scientists from the United States.
Wanda Whittlesey-Jerome, Associate Professor at the School of Social Welfare at the University of New Mexico (USA), has dedicated her academic career to building the evidence base for hippotherapy.
“Horses are always on the alert, they constantly control the surrounding area, fearing predators. They are able to sense whether a person is calm or tense and react accordingly. When we come to them, they reflect our condition like a mirror. They react to our hidden feelings, which may not appear outside. Horses can help us learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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Whittlesey-Jerome has conducted several studies involving at-risk high school students and women who have experienced domestic violence. The results showed that equine-assisted development and training association (EAGALA) horse-assisted equine training programs had a positive effect of improving resilience, reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improving overall functioning.
The first study involving high school students in Albuquerque, New Mexico was conducted in 2009 and found that hippotherapy produces positive results when used as an adjunct to traditional psychotherapy and educational programs.
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The second study was conducted in 2013 and included women who received assistance from the Albuquerque Domestic Violence Center. Half of them received conventional psychological help and participated in group therapy. The other half of the participants also took a course of hippotherapy.
“The results showed improvements in the hippotherapy group, women’s self-esteem increased, depression and anxiety decreased. A lot of important information was obtained from the entries of patients in the diaries. After completing an eight-session course of hippotherapy, several women said that the sessions helped them understand themselves better, and now they are ready to abandon their relationship with a dysfunctional partner and move on,” says Whittlesey-Jerome.
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Another study is being prepared and planned. Also, the New Mexico Department of Health is going to provide funding to two non-profit organizations that will provide hippotherapy sessions for military personnel and their families.
“During EAGALA hippotherapy sessions, participants are always near the animals. They learn to build and maintain relationships with horses based on trust and respect. At the same time, they learn how to interact with other participants. In the process of group work with horses, metaphors are constantly created that allow participants to understand something new, ”explains Wanda Whittlesey-Jerome. She hopes that EAGALA will become the standard form of hippotherapy worldwide in the future.
Подробнее см. W. Whittlesey-Jerome «Adding Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy to Conventional Treatments: A Pilot Study Exploring Ways to Increase Adult Female Self-Efficacy among Victims of Interpersonal Violence», The Practitioner Scholar: Journal of Counseling and Professional Psychology, 2014, vol. 3, № 1.