At Pecan Creek Ranch, Trauma-Focused Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy is provided by a team of professionals. The team consists of a licensed mental health professional and an equine professional. These two individuals work together to provide a seamless intervention for you or your family. Let’s look at the responsibilities of these two professionals.
The mental health professional is responsible for guiding your treatment by understanding the psychological issues at play, understanding what is happening for you in the moment, how to help you learn from your experience and offering connection to help you feel supported while you work.
The equine professional is responsible for understanding the horse, how what is happening in the moment is impacting the horse, helping you learn about your horse’s experience, offering the horse connection when you are not able to provide your horse connection and offering connection to you to help you feel supported while you work.
Since equine professionals and mental health professionals must go through a process of accreditation to be TF-EAP providers, they speak the same therapeutic language. They both understand interpersonal neurobiology and how trauma impacts a person’s functioning. They also understand how to help individuals create healthier, connected, and attuned relationships with themselves and others. Since they both have this knowledge, it is common for an equine professional to discuss aspects of neurobiology with a client, provide information about attachment, how trauma impacts a person’s development or teach coping strategies.
It is common for a therapy team to consist of professionals who can do both jobs though in each service they provide they have a specific role they are fulfilling.
How It Benefits You
It is indeed different to meet with two people in an open field or in a barn than it is to meet with one person in the office. At first, it can be a little intimidating meeting with two people instead of one but teams work hard to help individuals feel safe. Teams understand how hard it is to talk to two people at once. They have experienced what it is like as part of their training.
How does having a team benefit you? First, you have access to more brain power, two brains are definitely better than one! Each person brings his/her experiences and education to the sessions and their different ways of seeing the world.
Second, sometimes members of a team do not agree on what is happening. When this happens, teams usually talk it out in front of you and sometimes with you, so you also participate in this discussion. So, you get to experience your team using the principles of healthy relationships with each other and with you.
Third, there is a tremendous amount of information transpiring in one TF-EAP session. Information from you, from your horse, and from each team member. Having two people allows for the tracking of all this information. Having two people also helps the team catch things one of the team members might have missed and help sessions be safe.
With two people trained to support you through your therapy, you have double support, knowledge, and expertise in your journey. You have an extra set of eyes helping you to be safe, and you have an extra heart available for you to connect with. Contact us to schedule a free consultation call to see if TF-EAP services at Pecan Creek Ranch are right for you.