

At Firm Foundations we believe that nurturing, connected relationships are the foundation of healthy development.
What is Equine Assisted Psychotherapy?

Through hands-on experiential work with horses, clients take counseling to a different level to achieve emotional growth and healing. By engaging with our therapy team of a mental health professional, an equine specialist, and one or more horses, clients participate in a mindful approach to relationship building where they can develop new skills in :
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Emotional regulation
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Appropriate boundaries
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Problems solving
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Relationship building
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Empathy
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Trust
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Touch respect
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Frustration tolerance

Horses are social animals that can provide a platform for clients of all ages to experience attachment and connection to another being. This allows the client an opportunity to experience healing in a relational context that can later be transferred to other interpersonal relationships.
Services
We acknowledge the value and benefit of the human-animal bond and what horses can bring to the therapeutic setting. The beauty of our experience-based approach is that the participant learns through "doing” or through interactions with their horse partner. This process can be incredibly insightful and create a lasting shift well beyond the therapeutic benefits of just being around animals.

Through hands-on experiential work with horses, clients take counseling to a different level to achieve emotional growth and healing. As clients mindfully approach relationship with the horse as a partner, they learn skills that include emotional regulation, appropriate boundaries, problems solving and relationship building.

Through activities with horses, participants can learn about: Setting and respecting boundaries, social & life skills, reading and responding to verbal and nonverbal body language, healthy communication, increasing self-confidence, building leadership and problem-solving skills

For clients wanting to continue their horsemanship journey after completing their therapy goals, lessons on the ground and in the saddle using a natural horsemanship/relationship-based approach are available.
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