Through EAP individuals become more aware of what they are communicating and what is being communicated to them by the horse; horses have only nonverbals to talk with humans, no words or assumptions can help a horse or client to know what the other is needing or wanting, so there is no room for interpreting and allowing personal judgments to come into play-horses will give client’s immediate feedback if they are not heard correctly. Clear communication is learned through EAP exercises. Most horses are innately forgiving creatures, which allows for a client to make mistakes and learn from them, rather than be reprimanded for them. A heightened sense of awareness, or mindfulness in the moment is practiced continuously throughout an EAP session. A flick of an ear, abrupt snort, or drooping of the head and neck can be a cue for relaxation, danger, or in general a change in the environment. A person’s senses are all used when around a horse.

Horses have personalities which vary just like humans, and learning about a horse’s personality is similar to what healthy human socializing looks like. Having ground rules such as respect initially will lead to safety and trust being established for both horse and human, which then allows for exponential growth in joy and connection.

Increased intunement with one’s own body can come from caring for a horse recognizing if a new bump or scrape is needing to be cared for to stave off infection or prevent an injury from worsening is vital to a horses longevity of health, and that care and attention to detail can be learned and applied to a person’s own emotional, physical and mental health.

Listening to what the horse is telling you; is he having a day where he is full of energy and the individual working with the horse has to regulate their own emotions to a lower level of arousal to ensure both parties safety? Or, is the horse showing signs of lethargy, calmness or laziness, and then the client needs to adapt to what the horse needs that day? Being intune with a horse allows a person to practice communication skills, such as respecting boundaries a horse sets, active listening skills, and assertiveness skills, all of which can be utilized in the span of a second within an EAP session.

For an EAP counselor, observing a client with a horse during an EAP session allows for clear, concrete information on a person’s strengths, and areas that are underdeveloped that otherwise may take multiple in-office sessions to gather said information. For example, a person may be extremely kind, and conscientious of others needs, may make friends very easily, but may be undeveloped in asserting boundaries with others, have high anxiety stemming from aversion to conflict with others, and lack the ability to establish healthy, sustainable, long-term boundaries for deeper connections and relationships with others. A client will learn swiftly and concretely to establish boundaries with a horse for their and the horses safety.

Skills learned and utilized during an EAP session:

• Interpersonal skills
• Interpersonal conflict resolution skills
• Self-care skills
• Self-worth skills
• Emotion regulation skills
• Mindfulness skills
• Deep breathing skills
• Progressive muscle relaxation skills
• Adaptive behaviors
• CBT identifying Maladaptive Schemas
• CBT cognitive restructuring
• CBT thought stopping
• CBT reframing
• Role Playing
• Role modeling

EAP interventions inherently incorporate clinical techniques to allow a client to increase their ability to establish safety, trust, and connection to others, and identify fears, blinding beliefs and maladaptive behaviors that may stem from trauma, attachment, anxiety, and depression issues.

Rachel Tincher’s approach to EAP stems from her experience and knowledge gained from her training through Greg Kersten’s OK Corral Series, and Natural Lifemanship Institute, 25 years of riding and partnering with horses, being a Certified Trauma Practitioner, and being trained in S.A.F.E. EMDR. Most sessions are for individual clients, some family EAP sessions are offered. The initial session is the Mental Health Assessment which will take place at the Intentional Life Therapy office. EAP sessions are offered only after establishing treatment goals, and identifying if EAP will be beneficial to a client’s individual goals. EAP sessions may be utilized in conjunction with in office sessions which will be determined by the client and counselor when establishing treatment goals.

EAP aids clients to establish boundaries and learn to reframe and restructure previously established maladaptive schemas regarding relationships with others. For example, a client may have the belief “I am not good enough”. This negative thought may drive a client to avoid friendships, social situations or relationships due to the fear of that lie being confirmed. Some EAP exercises will allow the client to explore that negative belief “I’m not good enough” with the horse and concretely overcome barriers or obstacles that can reframe a person’s mindset to “I am enough”, “I don’t have to be perfect” and more which allows the client to increase self-worth, communication skills, overall interpersonal skills, and increase trust in themselves and connection with other people.

Metaphors are innate within EAP exercises; client’s discover how he or she has maladaptive patterns in their life, areas that are underdeveloped, all without having to have it pointed out by another human. A horse can gently show a person where they need to focus their attention and grow. For example, if a client tries to force the horse to complete an exercise, but the horse doesn’t understand what is being asked of him, a client may become frustrated or anxious and give up on the exercise- the horse could be a metaphor for how a client interacts with stressful situations or people in their everyday life, and give an opportunity to try different methods to accomplish a goal without fear of being judged by others.