Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy

Healing Through Horses

Hallie E. Sheade

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781351257541
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy
• Index: Psychology

Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy offers a comprehensive guide to the practice of working with equines in a psychotherapeutic setting.

Chapters provide a research-informed approach to integrating the contributions of horses and other equines into mental health services. With a focus on equine welfare, the book uses a relational approach to explore a broad range of topics, including documentation and treatment planning, work with clients across the lifespan and with diverse needs, complexities related to horses in the therapeutic relationship, as well as ethical, legal, and best-practice considerations.

Mental health and equine professionals will come away from the book with a strong understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of equine-assisted counseling.

Chapter 1
Partnering With Equines in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy

Humans have always had an innate fascination with other living things. The earliest cave paintings depict various animals including horses (Olmert, 2009). Humans have interacted with animals in various capacities both in the role of prey evading predators by staying in the trees and later as predator hunting other animals for food. Although theories abound regarding the evolution of human intelligence and transition from prey animal to predator, many theories indicate that humans’ propensity for observing animals may have led them to observe the behavior of large predators and begin by scavenging the remains of the large predators’ hunts. Even the earliest humans appeared fascinated with animals and may have observed them for both strength and spiritual guidance, and to learn pragmatic survival skills. It is believed that humans first formed symbiotic relationships with wolves, ultimately leading to the domestication of today’s dogs. Each had something to offer the other—in exchange for security and companionship, the wolf gained a new type of pack. A pack that was willing to share the spoils of each hunt. The earliest indication of a close, bonded relationship between a human and a dog was found in the remains of an Israeli burial approximately 12,000 years ago, in which a human skeleton and dog skeleton were found buried together (Davis & Valla, 1978).

Our early human ancestors used the equine for one main reason—survival. It is believed that horses may have been domesticated multiple times by different groups. Furthermore, there are many competing theories regarding the domestication of horses. One of the earliest indicators of domestication is an increased variation in coat colors as early as 5500 BCE as a result of selective breeding associated with horses in the Eurasian steppes (Ludwig et al., 2009). It is believed that the first group to domesticate horses was the Botai people of the northern steppe of Kazakhstan. Evidence of their husbandry from the fourth millennium BCE includes leather equipment, milking tools and milk residue in pottery, corrals, and skeletal evidence of bitting, indicating a significant relationship between the Botai people and their horses (Gaunitz et al., 2018; Outram et al., 2009). As the Botai people are believed to be hunter-gatherers turned pastoralists, they are likely to have domesticated horses through the “prey pathway” in which horse husbandry arose from efforts to not deplete the horse as a food source from over-hunting (de Barros Damgaard et al., 2018).

In light of new genetic findings, researchers have suggested that the horses of the Botai may not in fact be the ancestors of modern horses. The only horses considered to be truly “wild”, the Przewalski’s horses, show genetic evidence of links to the Botai horses; however, modern domesticated horses do not show such ancestry. Due to both human and equine genetic findings, it is believed that other cultures also domesticated horses independently of the Botai, leading to domestication of the ancestors to modern-day horses. There are several theories regarding the ancestors of modern-day horses due to gaps in the research identifying additional groups of domesticated horses. The high amounts of mitochondrial DNA diversity found in modern horses indicates that horses may be have been domesticated more than once by different groups (Vila et al., 2001). These secondary domestication centers are believed to be in in Eastern Europe, the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, Eastern Anatolia, Iberia, Western Iran, or the Levant (Gaunitz et al., 2018; Lira et al., 2010; Shev, 2016). The domestication of horses by these groups may have also followed a different domestication pathway, the “direct pathway”, in which experienced farmers first hunted the horses and later initiated horse husbandry so as to not deplete the stock of available animals for food and to create a secondary resource in the form of use for milk, hide, and transportation (Zeder, 2012, p. 245). It is believed that donkeys, descended from the Nubian wild ass, were domesticated in Africa by the direct pathway also, the farmers in this case seeking their assistance in carrying heavy loads longer distances. Unlike other domesticated animals such as pigs and dogs, there are no observable differences in the appearance of wild horses and domesticated horses, leading researchers to rely on archaeological evidence of domestication such as the presence of manure and corrals (Zeder, 2012). These ancient cultures primarily used one of two approaches to domestication and training of equines based on the establishment of either a dominant human-equine relationship or cooperative human-equine relationship. Cooperative relationships were rooted in the culture’s desire to understand equine behavior to form a mutually satisfying relationship.

The domestication of horses has had a tremendous impact on the shaping of all aspects of modern society. Partnership with horses enabled the transmission of language, culture, and trade across areas previously inaccessible on foot (Gaunitz et al., 2018). Evidence of horses being used for riding is demonstrated in the dental patterns of horse bones found in the Botai region (Anthony & Brown, 2011). It is likely that horses were first ridden to hunt wild herds of horses for food and increase effectiveness of livestock management for cattle and sheep. As both mobility and livestock herd sizes increased, herding social economics and political power associated with possessing a larger herd likely followed. This societal change may have led to tribal raiding beginning in 4000 BCE followed by the birth of organized cavalry in 1000 BCE, thus forever changing the nature of warfare (Anthony & Brown, 2011). Cultures which had integrated horses and riding were tremendously successful in warfare and conquest, easily overpowering societies which lacked horses (Outram et al., 2009). Evidence of horse-drawn chariots based on burial evidence from the Sintasha culture in 2100–1700 BCE shows additional benefits for an edge in warfare (Anthony & Brown, 2011).

Healing and the Human-Equine Bond

As the use of horses expanded to new people and cultures, horses were no longer regarded solely for utilitarian purposes but also for spiritual guidance and healing. Hippocrates may have been one of the first to document the health benefits of riding horses (Riede, 1987). Xenophon, an ancient Greek general and philosopher, also touted the benefits of riding horses to heal physical ails. In addition, the horse also served as a symbol of transcendence (Hamilton, 2011). The ancient Egyptians conveyed the bond between horses and humans through hieroglyphics by depicting an intertwined rope between a horse and a person (Hamilton, 2011). Other cultures also looked to horses for spiritual guidance, including the Celtics, various Native American tribes, Bedouins, and Mongolians. Some of these cultures appreciated the horse for enhancing their own self-awareness and viewed their horses as extensions of themselves (Hamilton, 2011). Many biblical and mythical stories across the religious traditions of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, ancient Greek, Roman, and Nordic mythology feature horses as a central part of the stories. In Jewish scripture, horses were often represented as highly regarded heavenly creatures helping the Jewish people to win un-winnable battles. In the book of Zechariah, horses are represented as guardian angels to the world. In the Hindu story of Vishnu, a horse is referenced in saving the world (Howey, 1923).

Horses were not the only animals recommended for healing physical and psychological suffering. The concept of partnering with animals to promote healing in people dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks (Grier, 1999). Living with companion animals (i.e., pets) imparts numerous physical and psychological benefits. Researchers have documented the benefits of bonding with animals to promote resilience and coping during difficult life experiences (Walsh, 2009). In the early to mid-1900s, middle-class Americans began to focus on the role of animals in teaching children self-awareness, empathy, and socialization. It was believed that interacting with animals both in nature and as companion animals enabled children to learn valuable skills that would later assist them in developing positive familial and societal relationships. These experiences were believed to be even more important in training children who had demonstrated cruel behavior to become functioning members of society (Grier, 1999).

Sigmund Freud was one of the earliest proponents of including animals in psychotherapy. Although he initially included his dog, Jofi, in sessions for his own comfort, Freud soon noticed that his patients also seemed more comfortable and talkative in the chow’s presence. He noted that the dog provided a source of safety and acceptance for clients in distress (Fine, 2010). Boris Levinson was one of the earliest therapists to call for the specific integration of animals in psychotherapy in 1961. Levinson advocated for the benefits of including pets as catalysts in speeding up the psychotherapy process, facilitating engagement with withdrawn clients, and helping children to experience healthy relationships (Levinson & Mallon, 1997). Interest in and momentum for including animals in psychotherapy began to really take off in the 1970s (Rice, Brown, & Caldwell, 1973). Corson and Corson began using Levin-son’s techniques at Ohio State University and conducted some of the earliest research on the inclusion of animals in psychotherapy (Levinson & Mallon, 1997). Pet Partners (formerly known as the Delta Society) was established in 1977 in order to study the effect of the human-animal bond. This organization later became the first group to establish standardized guidelines on providing animal-assisted activities and therapies (Pet Partners, n.d.).

Neurobiology of the Human-Equine Bond

People have much in common with equines. We are both social animals who rely on our families and herds for safety, protection, support, and comfort. We, like other mammals, also share the brain structures (e.g., amygdala and hypothalamus) and neurochemicals (e.g., dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, and serotonin) responsible for emotion, social connection, and empathy (Panksepp, 1998). As positive social interaction with others in our own respective species results in the activation of our brain’s reward system and release of endogenous opioids and dopamine, it is likely that humans and equines experience a similar effect when involved in positive social interaction with each other (VanDierendonck & Spruijt, 2012). The human-equine bond may be rooted in mammalian attachment in which both human and equine experience a reciprocal emotional bond (Payne, DeAraugo, Bennett, & McGreevy, 2016). Researchers have demonstrated that equines can recognize and will respond differently to familiar people in comparison to unfamiliar people by using vocal, visual, and olfactory cues (Lampe & Andre, 2012; Proops & McComb, 2012). These factors combined may help us to connect with equines on an interspecies neurological level and form the foundation of the human-equine relationship.

As prey animals, equines are highly attuned to reading body language in both equines and in other species, such as humans. Equines read and react to tension in human body language in the same manner that they would respond to perceiving physical tension in an equine herd member (Goodwin, 1999). Equines and humans co-evolved to better understand each other and communicate more effectively. Much of this understanding is first communicated through touch (Scopa et al., 2019; Lagarde, Peham, Licka, & Kelso, 2005). It is likely that the relationship was strengthened by the empathic communication that accompanied riding activities. Chardonnens (2009) described Brühwiller Senn’s (2003) idea of the empathic reciprocity that occurs between horse and rider in learning to read and respond to each other’s posture, breathing, and movement to work together. This experience likely played a crucial role in the strengthening of the emotional components of the human-equine bond.

Equines are also capable of reading and responding to different human emotions (Hama, Yogo, & Matsuyama, 1996) and facial expressions (Smith, Proops, Grounds, Wathan, & McComb, 2016). Additionally, equines may use human odor to interpret positive and negative emotions in people. In a preliminary study, Lanata and colleagues (2018) found that horses experienced changes in their autonomic nervous system resulting in increased arousal in response to smelling human odors in response to the emotions of fear and happiness, indicating that a transfer of emotions likely takes place from humans to horses. Equine ability to read and respond to human emotion has likely played a large role in the establishment of human-equine relationships for both work and pleasure.

Researchers have found numerous physiological and neurobiological benefits for humans as a result of ongoing interactions with animals, like those that occur by having companion animals. These benefits include improved cardiovascular health such as lower resting heartrate and blood pressure and decreased state anxiety (Barker, Knisely, McCain, Schubert, & Pandurangi, 2010; Levine et al., 2013; Shiloh, Sorek, & Terkel, 2003). Odendaal (2000) and Odendaal and Meintjes (2003) found that when people stroke dogs, both the people and the dogs experienced increases in social connection hormones such as oxytocin and the people also experienced decreases in stress hormones such as cortisol. Hama and colleagues (1996) found that both people and equines have demonstrated physiological indicators of relaxation when interacting in a positive manner. After reviewing literature on the physiological effects of social support through interaction with animals, Virués-Ortega and Buela-Casal (2006) suggested that these positive effects may be due to stress-buffering resulting from receiving noncritical social support from animals as well as relaxation as a result of classical conditioning.

Benefits of Including Equines in Counseling and Psychotherapy

There are numerous benefits to including equines in counseling and psychotherapy. Equines naturally embody many of the facilitative factors identified by researchers for client improvement and client satisfaction in counseling, namely acceptance and empathy (Lambert & Barley, 2001). In their interactions with people, equines are naturally nonjudgmental and accepting of most people contingent on their ability to feel safe and secure around those people. An equine will not judge a client for how they are dressed, the negative thoughts that play in the client’s mind, or the trauma that they may have experienced in the past. Instead, the equine will respond to the client in the present moment, helping a client to feel emotionally safer and less guarded and therefore more open. Equines also possess inherent empathic understanding as they are capable of reading and interpreting the client’s many nonverbal cues such as body language and physiological changes. As equines communicate primarily through body language and facial expressions, that is also the primary way that they seek to understand people (Hill, 2006; Smith et al., 2016). Through observation, the equine can understand some of the client’s inner world. Additionally, it is likely that equines are also capable of sensing the client’s physiological changes in breathing, heart rate, and hormones, furthering the equine’s understanding of the client’s present experience (Lanata et al., 2018). The equine’s subsequent behavioral feedback in response to these cues communicates this empathy to the client and enables the client to feel understood.

These facilitative factors inherently possessed by equines also enable clients to establish relationships through which they can learn positive relationship skills such as communication skills, social skills, assertiveness, empathy, and boundary-setting. These benefits have also been widely documented by professionals and researchers (Carlsson, Ranta, & Traeen, 2014; Chandler, 2017; Rothe, Vega, Torres, Soler, & Pazos, 2005; Smith-Osbourne & Selby, 2012; Vidrine, Owen-Smith, & Faulkner, 2002). The relationship with equines can become a microcosm of the client’s world and patterns of interacting with other people. Through the process of building and testing the boundaries of this relationship, the equine will respond to the client with immediate, honest, and nonjudgmental feedback. Oftentimes, the client will be much more receptive to this feedback coming from an equine than another person. The equine’s feedback towards specific choices and behaviors that the client may engage in during the session enables the client to gain a greater sense of personal responsibility for their actions and decision-making skills. Additionally, clients become better at self-monitoring and more deliberate and intentional in their behaviors and communication. In this way, the client-equine relationship serves both as a lab in exploring different ways of relating and later as a template for forming healthy relationships.

Learning to communicate with and gain cooperation from an animal as large as an equine can greatly empower a client while doing wonders for their self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-confidence (Burgon, 2011; Chandler, 2017). In order to gain this cooperation and trust from the equine, the client must learn emotional regulation and to become authentic and congruent. Through this process, the client gains a stronger sense of self. Oftentimes, the equines will disconnect emotionally or even physically by moving away from clients who are not authentic. Clients will quickly learn that unhealthy patterns of relating such as aggressiveness, passiveness, or avoidance will not work with the equines. As interaction with the equines can be highly motivating, clients may feel safer to disrupt unhealthy patterns, work through barriers, and be authentic with others. As the client-equine relationship grows, many clients begin to express interest in caring for the equine by asking to clean stalls or engage in other “barn chores” independent of hands-on interaction with the equine. These requests often reflect a greater sense of belonging and connectedness in the client’s belief about their own abilities to contribute positively to others and the world around them.

The presence of the equine can help clients feel less anxious about the counseling process itself and may enable them to be more open (Kaminski, Pellino, & Wish, 2002; Sobo, Eng, & Kassity-Krich, 2006). This openness can help to build strong rapport between the client and treatment team, and help the client feel safer to process upsetting thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The presence of the equine helps the client to stay grounded and engage in deeper processing levels and experience greater improvements. By stroking the equine, the client is likely to gain physiological benefits such as a decreased release of stress hormones and increased social connection hormones (Cole, Gawlinski, Steers, & Kotlerman, 2007; Odendaal, 2000). Through the relationship with equines, clients have the opportunity to process and express themselves nonverbally through touch and physical contact (Sexauer, 2011). Furthermore, the client can express and receive affection from the equines to connect, self-soothe, and self-regulate. Finally, the presence of the equines can increase client engag...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• 1 Partnering With Equines in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 2 Nature of Equines
• 3 Philosophical Domains in Relational Equine-Partnered Counseling
• 4 Counseling Environments in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 5 The Treatment Team in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 6 Facilitating Relational Equine-Partnered Counseling
• 7 Integration of Counseling Theory in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 8 Practice of Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy Across the Lifespan
• 9 Counseling and Psychotherapy Formats in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 10 Implementing Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy With Different Client Populations
• 11 Ethical Considerations in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 12 Risk Management Considerations in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 13 Program Design in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 14 Research Issues in Equine-Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy
• References
• Index