At Solstice, Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is a major part of each student’s therapeutic journey. The Equine Therapy team is led by Shannette Keeler, LCSW, EAP, who is an advanced certified EAGALA equine psychotherapist. This certification is the highest certification offered by EAGALA, and takes many years and much training and supervision to acquire. This is very significant, as not many EAP’s ever achieve this level of training.
Equine therapy is a highly experiential therapeutic modality that involves hands-on work with horses. Students participate in activities that include experiential tasks, real-life obstacles and natural consequences. The horse becomes the therapist— leading the girls on a metaphoric journey towards growth and light. Interacting with these horses, each student receives powerful and immediate feedback on their behaviors and attitudes, as horses mirror everything that is happening in real-time. Students who have struggled with unhealthy relationships— using dishonesty and manipulation to get what they want—learn to interact in new ways that create safety and trust. At Solstice the girls participate in several hours per week of intense Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, which often becomes one of the highlights of their therapeutic experience.
Furthermore, the students at Solstice are actively involved in all aspects of caring for the horses. These animals require a great deal of hard work—instilling a healthy sense of love, responsibility and connection in our students as they come to understand that the horses depend on their support for survival. Our students also learn basic horsemanship skills including saddling, bridling, round-pen work, and riding. Those who are interested in expanding their horsemanship skills can also earn the privilege to participate in all day trail rides and local competitive rodeo events.