HOW DOES EAP AND EAL WORK?

Prior to beginning EAP or EAL I will meet with the client to better understand what the issues are, thoroughly explain what EAP is and is not, and set some treatment goals. EAP and EAL is not about learning horsemanship or about riding horses. Depending on the situation, an EAP session may include a horse-handler as an adjunct to therapy. That person is present primarily for safety purposes to allow the therapist to focus all their attention on the client and their process.

At the first EAP session, I review some very basic safety information, describe how the session will will be structured and answer any questions. Then the client is given a task or exercise to complete with the horse. The time to complete the task is dependent on the client and the horse. The process, rather than success or failure in accomplishing a task is what is most important. When the time for the task has ended or the task is completed there is time to process what occurred, what was learned, and how to integrate that knowledge into daily life. My role in the therapy process is to create a safe space for healing to occur, to observe, take notes and to facilitate discussion at the end of the exercise. It is the client’s responsibility to learn from the experience.

In an EAL individual experience, the client shares some of the personal challenges they are experiencing and would like to further explore. Examples of this may be becoming more confident, patient, understanding, a better communicator and a better partner. They are given exercises that will help them discover the solutions to those challenges. In team building EAL there will be a discussion of what people are hoping to discover and accomplish are then given exercises to do with the horses either in smaller groups or as a large group. Each exercise always ends with discussion. Team building can be intense, fun and very enlightening.