About Us...
Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy, EAP, is an emerging field in which horses are used as a tool for emotional growth and learning. By virtue of their size, patience, strength , loyalty and herd instincts, they can assist a therapist in treatment intervention, which is focused on long term life skills. EAP is highly effective in dealing with many behavioral , educational , relationship and communication problems, as well as depression, anxiety, eating disorders and trauma issues.
How does it work? EAP teams a licensed therapist with a certified horse professional who introduce and supervise simple ground activities between the horse and the client. It is not about riding skills or horsemanship. A horse's social skills ( such as honest reactions or mirroring a humans emotions) can provide multiple opportunities for metaphorically reaching even challenging clients and bringing about powerful positive change.
In the past five years since EAP's Inception , several studies have been done supporting the fact that Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy is beneficial for emotionally struggling people in both residential and out-patient setting. The data is available upon request. One example case involved an eleven year old girl whose family chose EAP as a last resort. She had been in counseling since the age of six for issues involving Molestation and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, all with minimal results. From the horses she felt the powerful response of unconditional acceptance for the first time. She learned " I have to change myself first, don't I?" She got much happier cooperation that way and found it worked with the people in her life too.
Megan Keller, MA, MFT, EAP II
The Therapist for Equassist is Megan Keller, MA, MFT, EAP II, with numerous years in counseling experiences, she has now been certified by the International Equine Growth and Learning Association. Certified horse professionals join her to create a unique, confidential environment for maximum growth. Her own life has been positively affected by the healing association with these powerful animals. Her plans include using EAP as an effective tool for struggling children in a school setting, domestic violence victims, families, individuals and even corporate groups. Megan can be reached directly at 801-361-6058. Assisting is Lana DeMarco, Equine Specialist EAPI. Lana can be reached directly at 801-310-8861.