This program provides assistance to youth from all walks of life, who may be struggling with mental health for a variety of reasons. These reasons range from childhood abuse, trauma or neglect, social isolation, or the death of a loved one. We also work to make these services available to children who are currently or formerly in foster care in Washington County and beyond.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy involves a licensed mental health professional and a horse working together to help individuals with mental health issues. The horse is used as a tool to help clients learn about themselves and their relationships with others. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy has been found to be effective in treating a range of conditions, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The therapy involves a range of activities that are designed to help individuals develop the skills to manage emotional needs. Equine therapy has become increasingly popular in the United States with more than 800 centers offering equine assisted therapy services across the country. The use of equine therapy is expected to continue to grow as more people become aware of its benefits and more research is conducted to support its effectiveness.
While partnering with the unique attributes of the horse and our expert facilitators, children work on skills such as mindfulness, leadership, choices, respect, teamwork and nonverbal communication.
Over the course of four weeks participants will engage in three 90-minute group session with one of our equine specialists, where they learn how to effectively use non-verbal communication to execute tasks with their horse. These tasks may include challenging obstacles, building trust, or exploring nature trails together. Through interactions with the horse, participants learn how horses communicate, how they think and learn, and most importantly, how the horse reacts to your clarity, demeanor, stress, and leadership. These interactions help participants identify where they may have challenges with trust, impulse control, fear, empathy, mindfulness, as well as communication and leadership skills. On the final week (week 4) participants engage in a 90-minute group session with one of our licensed therapists, who guides them in exploring and processing those challenges and in setting goals for progress. Sessions are once a week for 4 weeks, and we offer this program throughout Spring, Summer and Fall.
Prioritize your child’s mental health and get them the help they need to live their best life. Would you like your child to participate in our Equine Assisted Therapy for At-Risk Youth program? Click the link below to apply for them to be a participant today!
Windfall Equine Therapy Center is always in need of volunteers to support the work we do for our veterans. From taking care of the horses and facilities to helping with any of our fundraising events, we are here to help you get involved. Click the link below to apply to be a volunteer today!
We can’t do the work that we do without YOU! Windfall Equine Therapy Center is proud to offer these amazing programs at a very low cost to families! The cost to support each youth to participate in one of our four week programs is $400, which helps us provide quality horses, equipment and facilities to support this work. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our programs to help or sponsor an at-risk youth today!
Do you have a child in your community that could benefit from this program? Nominate a child today! Just contact us using the form below and be sure to give us the name of their parent, guardian, social worker or other adult in their life and best way to reach out to them.
Do you have additional questions? Contact Us!
