4 minute read
Using Horses in Psychotherapy
Using Horses in Psychotherapy
Story and Photos by Nancy L. Smith
“It all started with a pony ride,” says Bekah Baughman of Lincoln, Delaware. Her desire as a three-yearold to ride a horse has blossomed into Courageous Hearts Equine Assisted Psychotherapy & Learning Center LLC, a mental health practice where she works as an equine specialist with her mother, licensed clinician social worker Rosemary Baughman.
Rosemary, Executive Director of Courageous Hearts, licensed clinical social worker and certified addictions counselor, explains, “This is a mental health model that incorporates horses.” Unlike traditional talk therapy, which involves sitting in an office with a therapist, Courageous Hearts encourages interacting with horses or simply observing them. Clients do not ride the horses.
The practice serves people of all ages and experience including farmers, military, at-risk youth, trauma survivors, school groups, people in recovery, PTSD victims, workplace teams, and children with behavioral problems. The youngest client was three years old; the oldest was in their 80s. “It’s appropriate for anyone. You can always learn and grow and ask for help,” says Rosemary.
Her practice is part of Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, a global network of therapists incorporating horses into mental health treatment. The association operates in 40 countries and served nearly 50,000 clients in 2019.
Courageous Hearts has eight horses — all of them rescues or retired from their first career — and a staff of licensed therapists and equine specialists.
Rosemary explains, “It’s impossible to fake a real connection with an animal who’s evolved over millions of years to intuitively understand who can be trusted and who may be experiencing the kind of inner turmoil that can signal a threat.”
“Horses have their own personalities,” Bekah notes. “Our clients create their own relationships with each one. The horses become whoever or whatever our client needs or wants them to be.”
Rosemary adds, “We use horses because they’re very intuitive and they can pick up on your heart rate, your breathing. The way they react tells us what we need to know.”
“We recreate who we are no matter where we go, so with the horses, we can work on behaviors we like about ourselves and increase them, like independence, for example. Or, we may have a behavior that we don’t want to do any more, but we don’t know what to replace it with. This is a great place to practice.”
Courageous Hearts also has two donkeys. “They are great with our kids with ADHD,” explains Rosemary. “The children begin to see that their behavior influences the behavior of the donkeys and that changing their behavior changes how the donkeys react.”
Agriculture is a high-demand, morning-to-night profession with not a lot of relaxation. People need to remember to take care of themselves.
Rosemary and her husband Jeff started Courageous Hearts after moving from the Philadelphia suburbs. Jeff serves on the board of the nonprofit and handles the physical aspects, building all the stalls and interior walls.
The practice began in 2012 at the farm where Bekah kept her horses. In 2014, Jeff and Rosemary purchased 10.5 acres and built a home and a 60’ x 60’ arena. The facility was built to be “country-looking, not clinical, and that was purposeful.” Now, with the help of Farm Credit, Jeff and Rosemary are building a 60’ x 120’ arena with a large classroom/meeting space.
Clients find Courageous Hearts through many sources. “We have multiple state contracts with the children’s department, detention centers, and the Department of Disabilities Services. We have a grant from the Veterans Administration for veterans and active military. The drug and alcohol treatment center in Milford brings groups twice a month, and we partner with all regional in-patient behavioral health facilities,” Rosemary explains.
She also teaches resiliency skills for the Dover Air Force Base mortuary unit, the sexual assault unit, and the Exceptional Family Member Program for military families with high-needs children.
She sees a need for mental health services in agriculture. “Agriculture is a stressful world,” she says, citing weather uncertainties, COVID-19, and succession planning among current anxieties. “I have concerns about mental health because [these stressors] can plummet people into depression because of the unknown.
“Agriculture is a high-demand, morning-to-night profession with not a lot of relaxation. People need to remember to take care of themselves.
“Life is stressful. We can all use selfcare. We can all use resiliency skills,” she adds. “I see a miracle every day.”
Check out Courageous Hearts Equine Assisted Psychotherapy & Learning Center LLC online at Courageoushearts.us, or follow them on Facebook: @CHEAPLLC
