Equine Wellness for First Responders and Healthcare Frontline
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Wellness Support for Occupational Stress Injuries
This unique equine experiential learning program is tailored to meet the needs of first responders and healthcare frontline who are experiencing job-related occupational stress injuries — including fire, police, paramedics, social workers, health care professionals, and others working with people experiencing trauma.
It is intended to assist you in addressing post-trauma stress and other occupational stress injuries.
An occupational stress injury may be caused by a psychologically traumatic event involving actual or threatened death or serious injury to oneself or others. It can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-altering events such as serious accidents, physical and sexual assault. Post-trauma stress can be triggered by a single traumatic event or it results from an accumulation of trauma that builds up over time (CMHA).
In individual or group sessions, you are presented with an opportunity to:
• Acknowledge the real, internal and personal impact of the repercussions of trauma and the first responder role on yourself and those around you
• Learn to use emotion as information, while creating greater understanding for your personal tolerance level in working with a variety of emotions
• Learn to respond most effectively at work and at home to personal and professional triggers, receiving tools to help manage stress and tension on the job
• Learn to manage the personal impact of experiences that naturally builds up from first responder and healthcare engagements.
This trauma-informed offering recognizes the growing body of experience that supports the therapeutic benefits of horse-based experiential learning — especially if you don’t naturally resonate towards talk therapies.
Why Horses?
With equine experiential learning, the activities with the horses become a metaphor for what is happening in your life and provide a mirror to reflect back information about your personality style, communication style and coping responses.
Explore emotions, build trust in yourself and others and develop your personal resilience in a supportive and non-threatening environment away from work and home.
Horses naturally invite reconnection. They see what we do not, guide us back to our truth and help us find the core strength and resiliency to meet challenges.
No previous horse experience is required to participate in this offering. All activities are done on the ground and facilitated in partnership with the horses.