Helping Veterans Overcome Trauma With Horse Therapy
James is a Marine Corps veteran who was really unsure about equine therapy for veterans. He had overheard someone talking about it through his Veterans program, and even though he’d never been particularly fond of horses, he was desperate to escape what he was feeling day-to-day. Even a year after returning home, he just didn’t feel okay.
All those feelings disappeared when he stood beside John Coffey, a chestnut-colored mare. The horse was skittish at first, mirroring James’ own feelings back to him. As they started to breathe together, James felt a sense of quiet understanding that he’d never found in traditional talk therapy.
For people like James, equine therapy for veterans offers a clear path to healing. It goes beyond what traditional talk therapy can provide. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of equine therapy, if it might be able to help you, and how to reach out to Ingrained Recovery when you’re ready to get started.
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What Does Equine-Assisted Therapy Offer Veterans?
During equine-assisted psychotherapy, you’ll work with a licensed therapist and a horse. There’s an emphasis on hands-on activities like grooming, leading, and spending time near the horse. The horse might be used for certain activities or therapeutic exercises. Veterans might also ride the horse, though this isn’t always necessary to get the benefits.
Equine-assisted therapy works well for veterans who might struggle with past trauma and opening up to their therapist. Horses mirror your emotions so if you’re calm, they stay calm. The calm, consistent environment and experiential learning aids in building trust, companionship, emotional awareness, and emotional regulation.
The Mental Health Challenges Veterans Face
The naked eye can’t always see the battle wounds that veterans come home with. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and survivor’s guilt are all struggles veterans face. There’s a heightened risk of substance abuse, particularly if you’re turning to alcohol or drugs to numb what you’re feeling inside. Veterans also might not be able to acclimate to civilian life easily. They may distance themselves from their families and friends.
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How Equine Therapy for Veterans Can Benefit Vets Struggling With PTSD and Dual Diagnoses
Working with a horse offers a kind of healing that goes beyond the words and exercises offered in traditional talk therapy. It can help you reduce anxiety, increase resilience, and find a renewed purpose in life.
The Therapeutic Bond Between Veteran and Horse
Therapeutic horsemanship has become increasingly popular. It may not be part of the average Veterans program, but many many military members have looked to equine therapy as a solution for PTSD and other mental health issues veterans face.
Equine therapy works because horses are prey animals. They are very sensitive to the body language and nonverbal communication around them. During equine-assisted therapy, you’ll work on building a calm presence and bonding with the horse.
As this relationship develops, you’re also building trust and connection that veterans might struggle to find after returning home from deployment.
Building Trust, Confidence, and Communication
Working closely with a horse requires a calm presence, trust, and boundaries (almost like a family member). If you are anxious or angry, a horse is going to feel unsettled or back away. This also isn’t something you can fake, as horses rely on nonverbal communication to pick up cues.
As you practice calmness and emotional control during grooming, leading, and other equine-assisted activities, you are also learning skills that carry over into your life. Working with the horse promotes emotional regulation, a tool useful for handling anxiety, depression, and other intense feelings.
Emotional Feedback and Regulation
If you feel anxious or emotionally distant after serving, you aren’t alone, but horses offer understanding. They provide immediate emotional feedback during equine-assisted psychotherapy because of the way they mirror your feelings back to you.
As you manage your feelings in the real world and help the horse feel settled, you get to practice emotional regulation in a way that you can’t in a more traditional psychotherapy setting of small groups of even individual therapy.
Integrated Treatment Plans
Even though equine therapy has real benefits for veterans, it is one part of a broader treatment plan. It works best alongside counseling, medication, and support groups. Sometimes, it is also used when clients participate in trauma-focused therapy.
As you start to develop trust and become more emotionally open, it’s easier to share with a therapist about issues with a more genuine sense of self esteem and compassion for your own struggles.
What to Expect During Horse Therapy
Equine therapy for veterans is one of the services that we offer at Ingrained Recovery. We believe working with horses can bridge the gap in communication between a veteran struggling with trauma and a licensed therapist. Horse therapy facilitates a safe, non-judgmental place for veterans to work through their trauma and develop trust.
At Ingrained Recovery, we with the OK Corral method to involve horses in some of our client’s treatment plans. A lot of the work that you do with horses is going to happen on the ground, through activities like grooming, walking the horse around, or just paying attention to how the horse acts. Watching the horse’s behaviors can give veterans valuable insight into how they are feeling.
One question many veterans have is whether they’ll be riding the horse at all. Horseback riding can be part of equine therapy, but it doesn’t have to be. There is plenty to benefit simply from being in the horse’s presence and much of the work is done from the ground.
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Learn More About Our Equine-Assisted Services at Ingrained Recovery
Veterans like James can’t always find the peace that they deserve after military service, especially using words. They benefit from the connection that they find with themselves, the horse, and nature.
Equine therapy can offer you relief from the weight that you’ve been carrying for far too long, even if you’ve tried support groups and talk therapy with little success. Call Ingrained Recovery today to learn more about our equine therapy programs for veterans. If you’re dealing with trauma, PTSD, or anxiety following service, know that you don’t have to handle it alone.