Resilient Youth is a 6-week trauma-informed, evidence-based equine-assisted psychotherapy group with a focus on building resilience through a series of facilitated human and horse ground-based horse interactions supported by mental health professionals.
No previous horse experience is required. Your child will learn transferrable life skills such as self-esteem, empathy, emotion regulation, relationship building, healthy boundaries, team work, communication and leadership.
Participants will learn and experience personal growth through:
- Enhancing self-awareness of personal values, our own and other’s emotions
- Understanding and using emotions as information
- Learning self-regulation skills when coping with stress
- Building self-confidence, feelings of self-worth and personal competency
- Building social skills including active listening, empathy, and personal boundaries
- Learning and connecting in a safe space with other youth who may be struggling with similar emotions and challenges.
Dates and Time: Thursdays from 4 – 6 p.m. from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. November 2, 2023 – December 14, 2023
Location: 2410 Cameron Line, Indian River, ON K0L 2B0 (15 minutes east of Peterborough) — Must be able to provide own transportation.
Fee:
$900 per participant payable by cheque or e-transfer to Connie Oates, Psychologist at PATh Clinic
6-8 participants
Participants will receive 12 hours of equine-assisted psychotherapy facilitated by a Registered Child Psychologist and a Registered Psychotherapist
Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy Group Therapy is covered by most benefit providers. Check with your provider.
To Register: Contact Connie Oates at PATclinic.on@gmail.com
What to Expect:
- This program requires a consultation between the psychologist and each participant and their parent/guardian before registration into the program to obtain informed consent to participate, build trust with participant, assess risk and group readiness, current supports and coping strategies.
- All parents must sign waiver and release forms prior to their child’s direct contact with horses.
About Connie Oates, Clinical Psychologist, Co-Founder, Peterborough Assessment and Therapy Clinic:
Connie is a registered Psychologist with over 20 years of clinical experience working with children, youth and families in private practice and hospital clinics. She has a caring compassionate style of engaging clients of all ages and a passion for early intervention and supporting families to find new ways to connect and grow together. She integrates a variety of evidence based approaches in her work and is committed to tailoring therapy to the unique strengths and needs of the individual and their family. Connie has completed certificate training in Building Internal Resilience Through Horses and Connection-Focused Therapy.
As a co-founder of the Peterborough Assessment and Therapy Clinic, Connie offers family and individual therapy, equine assisted therapy, formal psycho educational and diagnostic assessments for children and youth as well as consultation and supervision to qualifying psychologists and psychotherapists. Areas of expertise include; challenges with emotion regulation, grief and loss, anxiety and mood problems, attachment, trauma, eating and feeding problems including selective eating and ARFID, atypical development (ASD), chronic pain, and supporting families of children with medical issues.
Connie gained her undergraduate degree from Guelph University and continued her post graduate studies at Massey University in New Zealand completing a Masters in Psychology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology. Through her training and registration, she gained experience providing Psychological Services in hospital and community based mental health settings in NZ and Ontario.
About Jennifer Garland, Registered Psychotherapist and Owner/Program Director, The Mane Intent:
Jennifer Garland, RP, MACP is the Owner/Program Director at The Mane Intent. Jennifer is a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and has a Masters in Counselling Psychology. Jennifer’s approach is to draw upon the principles of positive psychology, solution-focused therapy and a variety of body-centred and cognitive-behaviour therapeutic interventions. Jennifer has trained in a wide range of evidence-based trauma therapies including: Trauma Counselling, Somatic Experiencing™, Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment, Connection-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills and Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning.
The Mane Intent offers psychotherapy and equine-assisted psychotherapy intended to help clients (age 7+) build confidence and resilience, work through difficult experiences and emotions, manage stress and even achieve post-trauma growth. Equine-assisted psychotherapy is trauma-informed and strengths- and evidence-based. Equine therapy can help build resilience, a greater sense of mastery, self-confidence and social skills. Working on the ground in partnership with horses also promotes greater emotional self-regulation, mind-body connections, and impulse control while promoting trust and connection.
Jennifer is passionate about sharing her genuine appreciation for the therapeutic benefits of working with horses (and other farm animals). We can learn so much about our own nervous system and how we experience the world simply by being in their presence (no previous horse experience necessary). These benefits are heightened by the natural beauty of the farm and the surrounding land, inviting us to exhale and simply appreciate the moment. In 2022, The Mane Intent received two business excellence awards from the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce. Learn more at www.themaneintent.ca
