Equine Assisted Therapy
What can equine assisted therapy support me with?
trauma recovery including relational trauma, early childhood trauma, single incident trauma
anxiety
depression
grief and loss
processing major life transitions and stressors (including career changes, moving, graduating, parenting, etc)
continued recovery from eating disorders
chronic stress exposure
At Wild Hearts we offer equine assisted therapy tailored to support you in slowing down to process stress, grief, and life transitions.
Sessions are facilitated by equine guided clinician Caitlin Spencer LCSW-C
You are a powerhouse. You can move mountains. You have overcome adversity, accomplished a hell of a lot, and built a pretty sweet life for yourself. And… something is missing. In the process of building your life you might have left behind some parts of yourself. Perhaps these parts were left unattended while you pushed for the next thing, perhaps you had to intentionally leave them behind so you could more effectively fit the mold of success we have in our current culture.
Some days you feel in your bones that you are burned out. Yet, you manage to show up- for others; for the responsibilities people have entrusted you with.
And yet, if you’re being honest with yourself, you get the sense of your soul aching. You are being called to show up differently. But how?
You’ve managed to take some PTO, try out some self care, and show up regularly to therapy. But these solutions didn’t really lead to you feeling differently. Somehow these attempts at slowing down to tend to yourself felt like another task to add to the agenda- something else to DO.
You and I both know you can rock the doing part. You are skilled at using your intellect and operating from a brain based way of relating to the world. Maybe you’re a little too good at it, considering that being in your body and working from your intuition, feels like a totally different ball game. That may even be the reason you never could get into meditation, despite hearing how good it is for you from your therapist, your friends, or that self help account you follow on instagram.
You feel inconvenienced by your emotions. Being your deep feeling self is untenable if you want to continue to find success in the world. So, these emotions get shoved down and you micromanage them with a sense of hyper-vigilance. Your proverbial “toolbox” is full of coping skills (therapist sanctioned or not) all to “manage” your anxieties, worries, fears. The idea of really feeling your feelings confuses or maybe even repulses you—that’s what you try so hard to avoid! The problem is, now you’re left with a sense of dread and worry that these feelings, these felt senses in the body, will surface and put you to task with trying to shove them back down or shut them off. Ultimately this whole process ends up leaving you with a new set of feelings to cope with! Hmm…maybe not so efficient after all…
You’ve landed here, reading my website, feeling frazzled, stretched thin, but still seeking. Wondering if it’s possible to feel differently and noticing a sense of curiosity…and maybe even an inkling of hope.
In our work, I will help you ease into your nervous system and return home to your body and it’s natural wisdom, so that you can begin to feel good again.
At a pace that works for you, we will step-by-step and bit-by-bit explore how to allow your body to process stress and emotions. Over time you will see that your body’s natural ability to do so can also lead to expansion into the good stuff- joy, love, calm, flow.
In these sessions, you will begin to remember the wisdom of your body, and walk away with the felt sense of being more whole; more empowered knowing you are capable of moving through what comes up.
You can begin to let go of your hyper-vigilant guardian who protects you from feeling the big stuff, that guardian can take a break! Hell, maybe it can even pull up a lounge chair and sip a big fruity drink with an umbrella in it- it deserves some rest after all this time!
After all, you are your greatest healer. You are your own heroine. You are capable of more than you know.
What might you gain as a result of our work together?
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Mind
Learning to develop your Self-Leadership: the ability to lead ourselves both internally and externally with awareness, self-responsibility, self mastery and intention
Discernment between our False self and Authentic self
Identifying our Core Values and intentionally choosing to align our behavior with them
Understanding overthinking as an adaptive response to succeeding in modern society, and observing how this adaptation has severed us from our intuitive wisdom, and our creative and expressive states
Peeling back layers of conditioning that led us to over-rely on our thinking selves, and examining our anxious and competitive states of doing, and achieving
Learning to view our inner critic as a means of survival, and moving towards making peace with it as you step into your Self and embody leadership from a new place
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Body
An introduction to body based or somatic techniques for processing emotions
Opportunities to practice regulating your emotions in a space with horses, as you get real time feedback from them on the state of your nervous system
Connection and co-regulation with horses and nature
Experiencing presence, attunement, and practicing BEING rather than DOING
Learning to trust your body again as you develop a felt sense of moving through emotions in real time
Practicing embodiment as you use energy to set and hold boundaries
Expand your nervous system’s capacity to feel the good stuff too- joy, calm, peace, connection
Practicing mindfulness and slowing down to feel into the sensory delights all around as you connect to nature
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Spirit
Feeling rooted and grounded in a greater purpose
Reconnection to your natural, true and authentic self
A remembering of your intuitive senses, and embracing of your inner wisdom to guide you forward
Embracing life with new vitality and a more expansive perspective
Connection back to the Earth, connection with others we share the planet with
Exploring ritual and connection to rhythms of nature
Balancing your yin (feminine) and yang (masculine) energy to feel more harmonious within your self and the way you show up in life
Exploring community and relationships as ways of supporting your purpose and sharing your unique gifts to others
Why Horses?
Horses as prey animals are masterful at reading spaces and the beings in them
They can reflect information about ourselves back to us in real time. Like a living biofeedback system
They offer feedback in a non judgmental and unbiased way
They are skilled at reading energy and intent to detect predators, which means they request congruence of us
We can practice our congruency with them by making sure our outward projection matches our inner experience. We can take off the mask with them.
As herd animals they are wired for connection and rely on one another for survival
Their large hearts and expansive electromagnetic fields allow for co-regulation of nervous systems to occur
Sharing energy fields with horses can lead to more feel good neurotransmitters, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and calming of the nervous system
They express themselves with their peers using clean and clear communication of boundaries
They are powerful examples of adaptive nervous systems and move efficiently through their emotions.
Horses do not dwell on the past or future, they are always present. This is how horses survive in the wild.
“Horses have a remarkable ability to help humans regain confidence, freedom, and a sense of security. Through interaction with them we can learn to connect with our natural wisdom and ultimately become better, more emotionally intelligent human beings.”
—Kay Sudekum Trotter
What to expect
Our work together may take a variety of forms, and might include the following:
In Person
For in person sessions, we will meet at the farm where there are fields of well cared for horses, a stream running through the property, and a tree line to wander around and connect with nature.
In this setting, you may find yourself practicing any of a variety of skills I will coach you through, including mindfulness practices and somatic interventions (this is the part where you learn to feel your feelings as you notice them in your body).
As you learn about your own body and how to help regulate your emotions, we may turn our attention to understanding the horse and how they move through their emotions. I will share with you information around horse body language, how they communicate and how we can practice safety when interacting with them.
Sessions will begin with a fence between us and the horses until comfort and safety are established, and then we may find ourselves venturing in with the herd to experience their wisdom and notice what shifts in our bodies as we step into trust with the horses.
From here there are many ways our work unfolds! I leave room for what wants to come. We can set an intention, and leave the agenda. Allowing for trust, and intuition in the unfolding so that you can walk away from our time together knowing you got what you needed.
Virtual
In virtual sessions we will have space to practice learning some of the somatic based interventions so that you have an understanding how to practice them once we get to the farm.
I’ll also spend time getting to know you, and what themes in your life are relevant to the growth and transformation you desire. In these calls we spend time tying together what you learn at the farm and put it into application in your actual day to day experience.
For this purpose, each of my packages includes integration calls where we can deepen your application and refine skills to help with moving your wisdom into practice resulting in real change!
A few more notes
Some things that our work together is not:
We won’t be riding the horse- this work is unmounted
Sessions do not include forcing the horses to do something they are not interested in doing. Our sessions are consent based and at liberty.
Sessions are not clean and tidy. Please wear closed toed shoes, and pants are recommended! We will be outside in the elements, and you may get dirty!
In person sessions are not predictable. As we know, weather can be unpredictable, and horses the same!
Important
If you are currently working with a therapist, that is wonderful! I am able to coordinate care with your treatment provider to provide you the best support possible. This work can be powerful as an adjunct to traditional therapy, if that is what you are looking for.
I am Out of Network with insurance providers, meaning I will not be able to bill insurance for this service at this time. If you have Out of Network benefits, a SuperBill is available upon request. Please contact me with questions about this process.
I’m currently accepting new clients for equine assisted therapy.
The first step is to schedule a free consultation, followed by an online introductory or diagnostic session.
During this initial session we will explore your goals, go over how my services can be customized to your needs, review expectations and safety measures, and make sure that we are good fit for one another.
**no horse experience is necessary**
Who are Equine Guided Healing + Growth Sessions for?
If my writing resonates with you I invite you to reach out to me and we can explore our options for working together.
I am currently working with ages 16 and up
You do not need horse experience- you don’t even have to love horses!
If you are not local we can discuss long distance coaching options and online work supported by my clinical experience as well as the wisdom of the horse.
You cannot use health insurance for these sessions and payment is expected before or at the time of service.
If I do not feel we are a good fit for one another at this time I will do my best to point you to resources that can meet your current need.
I’m happy to coordinate with your current therapist if you are interested in these services as something additional or complimentary to traditional psychotherapy
Ready to get started?
Awesome! The first step is to schedule a consultation with me.
Please fill out the contact form below and I’ll be in touch with next steps.
If you aren’t sure these services are right for you, feel free to reach out and we can chat.
