The Meridian | Fall 2025

The MERIDIAN FALL 2025 | Volume 2 Issue 1

Institute for the Study of Integrative Healthcare

A NOTE FROM DIRECTOR SHARON KANFOUSH, PHD, C-IAYT The conference is right around the corner, and we are just putting the final finishing touches on the preparations. We sincerely hope you are as excited as we are and will be joining us on Saturday, September 13th! We are also making preparations for our 5-year Institute Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, October 16th!

Conference Registration and Programs We welcome in-person and virtual attendees. Our goal is to create a new discourse on whole-person care to help people stay healthy as well as regain health following illness or injury by bringing together integrative healthcare specialists, scholars, students, and members of the community to exchange ideas. Our community comprises integrative healthcare practitioners, psychologists, anthropologists and sociologists, environmental scientists, living/working space designers, educators, and others - at local, state, and national levels.

The conference agenda includes 2 expert panels, 26 oral presentations, and 11 poster presentations. Our opening keynote panel will discuss Hurdles and Solutions to Healthcare Integration, and the focus of our afternoon special interest panel is Integrative Approaches to Maternal Health. There will be 26 oral presentations and 11 poster presentations on a diverse array of topics including equine therapy, sound healing, craniosacral therapy acupuncture, prayer in healing, nutrition, supplements, psychedelicassisted therapy, play as self-care, creative arts therapy, aromatherapy, ecotherapy, houseplant benefits, and incorporation of integrative healthcare in occupational therapy and physical therapy education, and more! A detailed schedule and agenda, including presenters’ names and expertise, can be found on the conference website!

New to the conference this year, in-person attendees will have the opportunity to see and utilize the University’s sensory room, participate in a guided yoga practice, and - weather permitting - enjoy some fresh air on the selfguided 1-mile campus walk. We have also made special efforts to involve students this year, who will be guiding participants to these activities. Student organizations will also be selling refreshments to keep you energized throughout the day in between the continental breakfast provided, sit-down lunch, and expansive refreshments in the end-of-day poster session and closing reception. In

between their generous efforts to assist in helping the conference run smoothly for everyone, students will be joining in to hear the various presentations as well as perhaps meet and get practice networking with professionals presenting and in attendance. We hope you will meet and chat with our students and help support their organizations and, if you find yourself a bit lost or needing assistance while at the conference, you will be able to recognize our student assistant in their distinctive conference t-shirts!

Also new at this year’s conference, we will wrap up the day by giving out awards for the best student presentations - one for an oral presentation and one for a poster presentation - at the poster session and closing reception. We are excited about this new addition, for today’s students are the integrative healthcare proponents and potential practitioners of tomorrow!

We wish to extend a heartfelt “Thank you!” to members of our leadership and planning team, Nicole Scienza, Pat Swann, Audrey Cross, Colleen Sunderlin, Helen Blouet, and many members of the University marketing and IITS teams who contributed to planning this conference.

Visit our website to see a detailed schedule and agenda, including titles of talks and posters and presenters’ names and biographies, and register today. Deadline is Wednesday, September 3rd! www.utica.edu/preventive-and-restorative

Hybrid Integrative Healthcare Conference on Preventative and Whole-Person Care Saturday, September 13, 2025 Utica, NY and Virtual Register today at utica.edu/register2025

2025 Undergraduate Student Scholarship Winners Hailey Crandall Senior, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a concentration in Pre-Professional Med, School of Arts and Sciences Involvement, Leadership, and Service: SOTA68W- NY Army National Guard, Combat Medic Specialist, Kunkel & Little Falls EMT Full-Time, Utica University EMS Club Treasurer, Pre-Health Professionals Society, Asa Gray Biological Society, Society of Physics Students, Utica University Student Chapter of the American Chemical Society, Student Government Association Senator In her words: “My interest in integrated healthcare is deeply personal as well as professional. As a combat medic in the Army and a full-time EMT, I’ve seen how critical it is for healthcare providers to work together across disciplines, especially in high-stakes environments where lives depend on clear communication and coordinated action. But I’ve also been on the other side of things. As someone who has personally faced mental health struggles, I understand how isolating it can feel when care is fragmented. Thats why integrated care hits home for me, it recognizes that healing isn’t one-dimensional and that physical and mental health are inseparable. This perspective drives my passion for healthcare that is collaborative, patient-centered, and holistic.

I’ve extended that commitment beyond the field through my involvement in the Chemistry Club, Physics Club, EMS Club, and ASA Gray Biological Society, where I’ve embraced the importance of interdisciplinary thinking. Integrated healthcare isn’t just a model to me, it’s the kind of care I believe every patient deserves, and the kind of system I want to help build.”

person’s health, including physical, mental, and emotional well-being through various personalized and holistic care approaches. Additionally, it’s a strong passion of mine to immerse myself in learning more about holistic, functional, and spiritual forms of medicine through various educational panels on campus including an event named Preventing Maternal Mortality: Educate to Advocate Symposium recently presented on how health professionals can play a major role in reducing maternal death rates for African American women. The knowledge I’ve acquired through various events off and on campus will allow me to make educated, informed, and professional based decisions based on someone’s wants, needs, and desires. Aside from attending events on campus, I also serve as the previous Vice President for The Health Sciences Student Society and current President of HSSS on campus. Through these various positions I’ve been able to play an active role in planning and carrying out events, but also gain a more thorough understanding of how integrative healthcare can be used in my everyday practice as a future Occupational Therapist. Learning about integrative healthcare has always been important to me, because I strongly believe that I will be able to properly treat patients based on their abilities and desires with the information I’ve acquired through educational panels, guest lecture series, community service events, and more. Because of these reasons, I can foresee integrative healthcare being a large portion of my career as an Occupational Therapist.

Kathryn Whitney Senior, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences Occupational Therapy, School of Health Professions and Education Involvement, Leadership, and Service: SOTA (Student Occupational Therapy Association), National Honor Society Community Service Chair, Indoor/Outdoor Track and Field Team Captain, Vice President of Health Science Student Society (2023-2024), President of Health Science Student Society (2024-2025), Academic Peer Tutor, Office of Learning Services Peer Mentor, Psych Society, Arise at the Farm In her words: My interest in integrative healthcare began when I witnessed my grandfather cope with Dementia for 10 years. Each and every day brought on a new set of concerns, and it felt like no one had answers. Since entering Utica University as a Health Sciences major and double minor in Psychology and Health and Society, I now understand how impactful holistic medicine can be through the various coursework I’ve indulged myself in, including courses in Anthropology, Psychology, Biology, Sociology, Neuroscience, and Anatomy and Physiology. The information I’ve acquired about integrative healthcare will translate significantly into my future in Occupational Therapy. Because enhancing well-being and improving quality of life is at the forefront of an Occupational Therapist’s goals, I will address whole

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Pictured: Hailey Crandall (top) and Kathryn Whitney

DIETARY SUPPLEMENT RESEARCH STUDY Do you use dietary supplements or herbal remedies?

We want to know about your experience.

We are completing a survey study about the use of dietary supplements by people living in the United States, Canada, Iran, and the Caribbean.

If you’d like to take part in the study, please visit tinyurl.com/ Supplementstudy, scan the QR code, or email us directly at: SupplementsResearch@utica.edu

INSTITUTE ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBER SPOLIGHT: DAMIAN CHASE-BEGAY, PH.D. Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Montana School of Public and Community Health Sciences, Missoula, Montana Dr. Chase-Begay received a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Montana, a master’s in Healthcare Administration and Interprofessional Leadership from the University of California, San Francisco, and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Montana where his doctoral research focused on the protective role of Indigenous traditional ceremonial practices in an urban, multi-tribal community.

Dr. Chase-Begay has worked in the American Indian/Indigenous health field for more than two decades. He served as the City-County Health Officer for Missoula, Montana, and he is the former executive director of All Nations Health Center, in Missoula, and the National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH), in Washington, D.C. In his current role at the University of Montana, Dr. Chase-Begay teaches courses in social epidemiology and American Indian public health. His research interests lie in indigenous health, social epidemiology, substance abuse, and chronic illness. In July 2024, he received a career development award in implementation science from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA) to rigorously adapt an evidence-based substance abuse prevention intervention for urban Indigenous young adults in Montana to incorporate traditional cultural and ceremonial practices.

Featured Research Research by Dr. Chase-Begay and his collaborators was published in the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine in 2023. We present here a version of the longer article, truncated and altered to remove footnotes, parentheticals, and most abbreviations as well as some additional changes to increase ease of reading for a nonspecialist audience. However, we invite you to read it in its entirety and original form at the link that follows.

Traditional Ceremonial Practices as a Strategy to Reduce Problem Substance Use in American Indian Communities: A Systematic Review Introduction American Indian and Alaska Native communities have successfully relied on long-held traditional ceremonial practices to survive and recover from historical traumas for generations. Interventions that incorporate traditional

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ceremonial practices to prevent or treat problem substance use are increasingly replacing the more deficit-based clinical approaches employed by Western science.

Beyond merely introducing or strengthening aspects of culture—such as language, foods, games, or arts and

crafts—American Indian and Alaska Native communities are reviving traditional ceremonial practices in an effort to promote spiritual and emotional healing and, correspondingly, reduce rates of problem substance use associated with historical and intergenerational trauma.

Increased efforts to incorporate traditional ceremonial practices into substance use programming are, in many ways, a form of contemporary resistance for many Indigenous peoples. Historically, it is important to remember that many of these practices were undervalued, disregarded, and even deemed illegal in the United States, and this has resulted in a persistent distrust of research on the part of American Indian and Alaska Native communities. These factors have helped fuel a relative paucity of Western scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of traditional ceremonial practices. This presents a challenge for administrators of substance use programs, because it has led to a current policy and funding environment in which, despite millennia of practice-based evidence supporting their effectiveness, traditional practitioners and traditional ceremonial practice-based interventions are often deemed ineligible for reimbursement through public and private insurers.

This trend is beginning to change, however, as greater emphasis is placed on community-based participatory research methods and as more research is conducted

by American Indian and Alaska Native investigators for American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Studies have emerged over the last few decades, and are increasing in number, which specifically explore the effectiveness of traditional ceremonial practices to reduce problem substance use. One issue, however, is that many of these studies take place outside the United States and focus on Indigenous communities in countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or other parts of the world. For studies inside the United States, American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents are often the focus, due, in part, to the severity of health disparities in substance use-related mortality for American Indian and Alaska Native teens. How successfully these extraterritorial and youth-focused studies might generalize to American Indian and Alaska Native adults is not well established.

Another issue is that Indigenous and community-based participatory research methods can seem to lend themselves more easily to a narrative, or qualitative, inquiry. This is perhaps due to the emphasis on relational communal values, rather than a more compartmentalized, quantitative approach to understanding health. This effect has resulted in a greater preponderance of qualitative literature exploring the role and effectiveness of traditional ceremonial practices in reducing problem substance use in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. This is problematic because quantitative methods are often prioritized by funding institutions and scientists, even though qualitative methods are an important source of insight for examining indigenous healing methods.

The gap within the extant literature of studies that examine cross-cultural health and healing with the inferential power of quantitative methods adds to the continued designation of traditional ceremonial practices as a “nonevidence-based” practice. This project seeks to fill this lacuna by providing a review of quantitative data to address the question: What are the associations between interventions that incorporate

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traditional ceremonial practices and problem substance use, and do the relationships vary by reservation or urban setting?

Brief Summary of Methods (from the article abstract Between September 24, 2021, and January 14, 2022, culturally specific review protocols were applied to articles retrieved from over 160 electronic databases—including PubMed, Global Health, Global Health Archive, CINAHL Complete, PsychInfo, Web of Science, Health and Wellness (Gale), Sage Online Journals, and ScienceDirect.

A total of 10 studies met the criteria for inclusion in the review. Studies were conducted with both urban (n = 7) and reservation (n = 3) American Indian and Alaska Native populations. The most common traditional ceremonial practice activities reported were drumming (n = 9), sweat lodge (n = 7), and talking circles (n = 6). All 10 studies reported some type of quantitative data showing a reduction of substance use associated with traditional ceremonial practice interventions or activities.

Substance Use Behaviors Each of the 10 studies reported some level of favorable change in substance use behaviors. The single randomized control study found that participants who completed the traditional ceremonial practice intervention reported fewer drinks per day and lower odds of past 30-day marijuana use compared to those participants who received similar hours of standard care. Five studies found traditional ceremonial practice participation or interventions to be associated with a lower proportion of self-reported substance use behaviors. Three studies found that traditional ceremonial practice participation was associated with either fewer days consuming alcohol or fewer alcoholic drinks consumed.

One study reported lower substance use odds associated with traditional ceremonial practice participation. And one study found that alcohol cessation was positively associated with participation in traditional spiritual activities.

Discussion This review found suggestive evidence from 10 studies that traditional ceremonial practice-based interventions can be protective against problem substance use among adult American Indian and Alaska Native populations.

Through experimental and observational designs, the included studies measured reductions in alcohol or other substance use associated with interventions and activities that are culturally congruent with American Indian and Alaska Native traditional values, norms, and practices.

The need for traditional ceremonial practices as an intervention strategy is critical, as American Indian and Alaska Native people continue to experience an epidemic of problem substance use. Yet, access to traditional ceremonial practice-based interventions for American Indian and Alaska Native communities is currently constrained by the longstanding gap between Indigenous practice-based evidence and Western science. This could be fueled by a lack of knowledge or even direct biases toward cross-cultural forms of problem substance use treatment. To redress these problems requires the promotion of science that incorporates responsible, quantitative research of Indigenous healing methods. Traditional ceremonial practices are a culturally congruent strategy to reduce substance abuse. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to highlight

quantitative data exploring the relationship between traditional ceremonial practices and problem substance use among American Indian and Alaska Native adults.

While each of the 10 studies did include findings showing that traditional ceremonial practices and traditional ceremonial practice-based interventions may be protective against problem substance use, it is important to note that there were also some unclear findings. The randomized control study, for example, found lower rates of drinking and past 30-day marijuana use among the traditional ceremonial practice-based treatment participants, but this trend reverses by the 3-month follow-up. They address this unexpected result in their discussion by outlining how their cultural advisory board members noted that once the intervention ended, it likely meant the participants no longer had the protection of traditional ceremonial practice participation.

While more research is needed, this might highlight a potential danger of providing, then eliminating, access to traditional ceremonial practices upon completion of an intervention. Also, most of the studies did not break down substance use results by characteristics such as gender or age. So, while an overall decrease in substance use is reported, it cannot be known if this effect holds true for the entire population or only certain segments, for example, females or older adults.

Reservation versus Urban One aim of this review was to identify whether there were differences in the application and/or effectiveness of traditional ceremonial practice between reservation-based and urban American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

A noteworthy finding within the results is that the protective role of traditional ceremonial practice does not appear to be confined to reservation societies. Studies in urban cities with tribally diverse samples reported reductions in problem substance use, which do not appear to differ significantly from those within tribally homogeneous communities.

Cultural Integrity As they gain in popularity, it is essential that traditional ceremonial practices continue to be overseen in design or directly led by an Indigenous traditional practitioner, as reflected in each of the studies included in this review. It is critical that these current results be interpreted to reflect not just on the individual activities, such as drumming, smudging, or sweating, which traditional wisdom dictates are not independent, severable components. Rather, researchers must look on these as collective practices that are contextual and interwoven with language, geography, and tribal histories. The context of this evidence dictates that programming not be undertaken irreverent of the spiritual and traditional element, or, as one qualitative study title directly calls out, “Please Don’t Just Hang a Feather on a Program or Put a Medicine Wheel on Your Logo and Think ‘Oh Well, This Will Work…”

Practical Implications It is the hope of this research team that to the greatest extent possible, this review will support and inform the development and delivery of substance use programming for American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

In addition to specific activities and practices, several common themes were identified and laid out from studies that incorporate traditional ceremonial practices aiming

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to reduce problem substance use: (1) the process of designing and evaluating programming and research should either be led or informed by American Indian and Alaska Native communities; (2) traditional ceremonial practices should be delivered or overseen by a legitimate traditional practitioner; and (3) traditional ceremonial practices are not severable components and should be delivered within the context of spiritual and traditional elements.

Strengths and Limitations A significant strength of this review was the strong Native American representation and extensive clinical and research experience with American Indian and Alaska Native people in the authorship. This review was led by a Native American author with more than two decades of professional experience in American Indian and Alaska Native health and whose lived experience includes practicing and participating in traditional ceremonial practices. The senior member of the research team is a Native American clinical psychologist whose research has focused on identifying and enhancing culturally based protective factors. The two non-Native researchers have a background working with tribal and urban American Indian and Alaska Native communities and one previously led a similar systematic review focused on traditional ceremonial practices and preventing substance abuse among American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

An immediate limitation is the rarity of studies in general, which report quantitative data regarding traditional ceremonial practices. Several systematic or scoping reviews have highlighted qualitative evidence that supports the effectiveness and promise of traditional ceremonial practices to reduce problem substance use. While qualitative methodologies allow for a much deeper and contextualized understanding of phenomena, evaluation of the effectiveness of traditional ceremonial practice-based interventions must necessarily include quantitative measures as well. Currently, this is largely missing in the published literature. Because of this, it was not possible to complete a meta-analysis due to the lack of consistent statistical methods among the few studies that did publish this type of data. In addition, the scarcity of studies did not enable us to compare the effect based on type of substance use (i.e., alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs). It is possible that more data could be found in future searches of gray literature available on this topic.

Conclusions American Indian and Alaska Native communities have relied on the strength of traditional ceremonial practices to preserve and promote wellness since time immemorial.

While the drive to pour funding into substance use programming and services with a strong evidence base is a well-intentioned approach to responsible stewardship of limited resources, it is, nevertheless, a myopic approach.

The lack of translation from practice-based evidence to clinical data regarding the effectiveness of traditional ceremonial practices stems from very serious barriers: the historical criminalization of traditional ceremonial practices; recurrent disregarding of traditional ceremonial practices as baseless superstition by Western society; and a resulting, persistent distrust of research on the part of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

While there was not enough synthesizable quantitative data to perform a meta-analysis as part of this review, the existing

literature does indicate promise for the use of traditional ceremonial practices to address problem substance use in American Indian and Alaska Native communities in a way that is effective and also culturally congruent. This review intended to elucidate the potential benefits of traditional ceremonial practice-based substance use interventions, with the hope that emerging and future research will help establish a more robust evidence base. Given the evidence, the review team is cautiously encouraged and believes this topic merits further research and attention.

View the full, original, and unmodified article at http://doi.org/10.1089/jicm.2022.0655

Chase-Begay DM, Peterson J, Liddell J, Belcourt A. Traditional ceremonial practices as a strategy to reduce problem substance use in American Indian communities: A systematic review. J Integr Complement Med. 2023; 29(6-7): 408-19. http://doi.org/10.1089/jicm.2022.0655.

5-YEAR INSTITUTE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Mark your calendars, we will be celebrating! Join us to commemorate the first five years of the Institute. We will host a hybrid event to mark this significant milestone in the Institute’s history. Attendance at the in-person portion will be by invitation-only due to the large number of individuals who have played an integral role in supporting and advancing the Institute’s launch and growth.

However, we warmly invite anyone to join us virtually for a presentation by an invited guest speaker. Please check the website for an update and RSVP to receive the live stream link here: tinyurl.com/rsvp5years!

Visit utica.edu/integrativehealthcare for more information.

Healing Hooves: The Power of Equine Therapy As the field of integrative healthcare continues to evolve, new modalities are being recognized for their capacity to support whole-person wellness. Among these, equineassisted therapy—a non-riding, experiential approach involving horses—has garnered increasing attention for its effectiveness in promoting emotional resilience, personal growth, and psychological well-being.

According to certified life coach and equine facilitator Donna Lombardi of My Only Escape Stables in Verona, NY, “Equine therapy is a non-riding learning method that uses horses to help personal growth, pursue goals, improve communication, develop life skills, build self-confidence, develop self-awareness, improve teamwork, partnerships, and trust.” This treatment is not designed to give advice or diagnoses, but rather to empower individuals through experiential learning and guided self-discovery.

Central to the practice of equine therapy is the Power of the Herd Theory, developed by equine educator Linda Kohanov.

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This framework draws on the natural social dynamics and leadership principles found within horse herds to enhance human emotional intelligence, communication, and relationship-building. As prey animals, horses rely on nonpredatory power, mutual respect, and social collaboration for survival—offering a powerful model for effective and compassionate leadership. Through observing and interacting with herd behaviors, clients of equine therapy get the opportunity to reflect on their own relational patterns, leadership styles, and emotional responses in a dynamic, real-time environment. “Just as herds of horses need each other to survive, we all take different roles in life—boss, parent, partner, teacher, caregiver, protector, leader.”

(Lombardi, 2025) Participants often begin to recognize these roles within themselves as they engage with the horses. Through this process, they may uncover patterns related to dominance, boundaries, and vulnerability within a safe and responsive environment.

Why Horses?

Horses are uniquely suited to therapeutic work due to their status as prey animals. Their survival depends on the ability to detect subtle shifts in the environment, including human body language, energy, and emotional states. This heightened sensitivity allows them to function as mirrors- responding to the emotional and psychological cues presented by participants. Each horse used in therapeutic work is carefully selected based on temperament, responsiveness, and reliability.

The power of equine therapy is most evident in the stories that emerge from sessions. In one memorable case, an over-aggressive, highly dominant client—business manager struggling with interpersonal issues - elicited an extraordinary response from the horse. It sensed the tension, processed it as a thread, feared it, and then removed itself from the perceived danger by jumping over the fence!

This moment offered powerful, non-verbal feedback about the client’s energetic impact - something that may have taken weeks or months to address through traditional talk therapy.

Similarly, in sessions with children, horses often engage in playful behavior—tossing cones, nudging balls—creating an emotionally safe space for expression and regulation.

Lombardi shared, “Clients often arrive for a session in tears, feeling stress, anxiety, or depressed. After spending time with a horse, their outlook completely changes for the better.”

These experiences are not merely anecdotal. They reflect a growing body of evidence supporting the emotional and psychological benefits of human-animal interactions, particularly in therapeutic settings.

Integrating with Broader Healthcare Systems Equine therapy is most impactful when integrated into a broader healthcare plan, working in tandem with therapists, physicians, social workers, and other health professionals.

The collaborative nature of integrative healthcare aligns well with the experiential and feedback-driven process of equine therapy.

“When equine-assisted learning, coaching, and therapy are blended with healthcare methods of practicing professionals, my experience has been that the results are incredibly

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powerful—especially when there is communication between all involved,” Lombardi said.

Equine-assisted learning and therapy have demonstrated effectiveness across a broad spectrum of individuals and presenting concerns. While not a replacement for traditional mental health treatment, equine sessions can serve as a complementary approach for individuals experiencing trauma, anxiety, grief, burnout, or relational challenges.

One of the unique benefits of this modality lies in its nonjudgmental nature and environmental setting.

Children navigating difficult life transitions—such as divorce, loss, or developmental trauma—often find the sessions particularly helpful. For many, simply being in the presence of a horse provides a calming and grounding effect, allowing space for emotional regulation and expression. Lombardi explained, “Horses have an extraordinary ability to sense and respond to a client’s emotional needs. For children experiencing trauma, divorce, or other stressful life events, equine-assisted sessions offer a safe place where they can simply be kids.”

Our Institute Program Manager’s son recently participated in Lombardi’s informal Horse Lover’s Summer Camp to teach local children the value of the equine relationship, but also to raise money for one of their own, Dusty, who has a special condition and needs ongoing medical attention. Two other beloved horses, Daisy (pictured) and Wendy celebrated birthdays over the summer with the campers. Teddy, our PM’s seven-year-old, said of his experience, “[Being around the animals] felt really, really great. It made my body calm and my heart happy.”

Adults also benefit, especially those in high-stress roles or experiencing emotional burnout. The presence of a horse offers immediate, honest feedback that bypasses verbal defense mechanisms, fostering deeper self-awareness. For those on waitlists for mental health services, equine-assisted sessions can also provide interim support, helping them regulate emotions and build coping strategies until traditional care becomes available.

Equine-assisted therapy represents a dynamic and holistic addition to the integrative healthcare model. Grounded in theories of emotional intelligence, relational dynamics, and somatic awareness, it offers a unique, embodied form of healing that resonates across age groups and clinical needs.

As healthcare practitioners continue to seek effective, wholeperson approaches to care, the inclusion of equine therapy holds immense potential. With their keen intuition, powerful presence, and unwavering honesty, horses offer more than companionship—they offer transformation.

For professionals and clients alike, equine therapy invites a return to connection—within us, with others, and with the natural world.

Learn more about Donna and her horses: https:// empoweredbyahorse.wixsite.com/empowered-bya-horse

VanBenschoten, B. (2025). Interview with Donna Lombardi.

Empowered By a Horse, My Only Escape Stables. https:// empoweredbyahorse.wixsite.com/empowered-by-a-horse

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