2d therapyhorsesserveasmetaphors · 2d sunday, april 10, 2011 floridatoday...

7TO0201D0410 FLORIDA TODAYÀ 7TO0201D0410 ZALLCALL 56 17:36:43 04/08/11 B

2D SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 2011 FLORIDATODAY

Therapy horses serve as metaphorsHORSES, from 1D

“The idea of using horses to helppeople heal has been around forhundreds of years,” said LynnThomas, co-founder and executivedirector of EAGALA. “To use it in afocused way for mental healthtreatments is a little newer. We’reproviding psychotherapy. Thehorse is justanadditional tool.”

Or as Wise put it: “You take a tra-ditional model of psychotherapyandembedahorse.”

Horse historyPsychotherapistsAdelevonRust

McCormick and Marlena DeborahMcCormick of Texas are consid-ered the pioneers of equine ther-apy, developing their method dec-ades ago. Their approach grew outof their clinical experience and ex-pertise in the equestrian arts. TheMcCormicks have been breedingPeruvian horses, the 15th centurysteedofSpanishconquistadors, formore than 30 years and also trainandshowthem.

Years ago, the McCormicks wit-nessed how healing horses couldbe and added the dimension totheir successful practice with adultand adolescent psychiatric pa-tients, the McCormicks said in ane-mail interview. Their books“Horse Sense and the HumanHeart: What Horses Can Teach UsAbout Trust, Bonding, Creativityand Spirituality” and “Horses andthe Mystical Path: The Celtic Wayof Expanding the Human Soul” ex-plore that journey.

“We believed that exposure tonature, via the ‘real’ world ofhorsescould help restore innerbal-anceandasenseofaliveness,” theysaid. “It worked. Entering into a re-lationship with a horse is not only ajoyful and empowering experiencebut it is challenging. In time, wediscovered that horses could bene-fit all human beings who desirepsychological and spiritual ad-vancement.”

As equine therapy gained publicrecognition, many mental healththerapists began using it, they said,adding that unfortunately, many ofthem are not equestrians andhorses can become depressed anddemoralized with the burden ofhaving to fix people’s problems.The McCormicks have their ownmodel and train their own appren-tices to be students of human na-tureandof thehorse.

The horse is captivating becauseit is an animal with powerful in-stincts, which can elevate people’sowninstincts.

“Unlike dogs and cats, horsesare herd animals and so are humanbeings,” they said. “We love dogsand cats, but they cannot schoolthe human mind and heart in thewayahorsecan.”

The animals work well for ther-apy because they are great at read-ing nonverbal communication, saidThomas of EAGALA. The horsepicks up on every nonverbal mes-sage a person sends. So acounselorcan observe how a horse respondsto a patient and ask questions anddeviseexercisesbasedonthat.

“Horses are an amazing mirror,”Pollock said. “When people are outwith them, they build an awareness

of themselves that they would havenever had. The horses either mirrorsomeone in their life or they’re mir-roringanemotionorapatternofbe-havior that has kept this personstuck or paralyzed from movingforward in their life towards some-thingtheyreallywant.”

How it worksEquine-assisted psychotherapy

and learning are not about mount-ing and riding into the sunsetthough, NAHRA sometimes in-cludesridingaspartof treatment.

Rather, the horse serves as ametaphor, in addition to being acatalyst to bring up issues, Wisesaid. She said many times, talkingabout something in a sterile ther-apy room makes it hard to get tothereal issue.

“The magic word here is experi-ential learning, so experiencingsomething,”Wisesaid. “Ifyou areaperson who has some social prob-lems, relationship problems, if youwere to approach the horse and hewas to turn around and walk away,that’s very impacting. The personwould feel something at that mo-

ment that could relate to what hap-pens in theirrelationships.”

In that situation, Wise and anequine specialist would encouragethe person toapproachthehorse ina different way. Could the personchange something so the horse be-haves inadifferentmanner?

“So we might coach that person,on his own, to discover changes hecan make in himself that will helphim get to where he wants to in lifein terms of having more satisfyingrelationships.”

Wise said equine-assisted psy-chotherapy can beusedformost is-sues that psychologists address intraditional psychotherapy in an of-fice, whether it’s depression, be-reavement or anxiety. She saidwith more severe mental illness,psychotherapists need to usesound clinical judgment whenchoosingtreatmentoptions.

Some counselors use EAP as asupplement to talk therapy; othersuse it in place of it. Insurance cov-erage varies; the cost is similar to atherapysession.

No two EAP sessions are thesame. Sometimes patients directwhathappens.

Curtis Arnett, 40, of West Mel-bourne, who was left a paraplegicin 2005 after a motorcycle acci-dent, wheeled his chair into a penofhorses, selectedonethathelikedand then led him into a separatearea. There, he worked on a rela-tionship with the horse — makingrequests, building trust and estab-lishing boundaries by asking MudDog to repeatedly retrieve a sodabottle.

He tried to lead Mud Dog backinto the pen when the session wasover, but all the horses came intotheareaandsurroundedhim,mak-ing him feel stuck. A military vet-eran, it brought up issues of what itwas like to have to leave his familyto go into combat. When his wifewould drop him off, she wouldn’twant to leave.

Arnett, a psychology student at

Florida Tech, was at Forever Flor-ida to get a feel for what it would belike to go through an actual EAPsession.

In the arena, you have real-timeexperience and nonjudgmental in-teraction between a patient andthehorse, said StarrLee Heady of PXEquine Enterprises Inc. in GreenCove Springs. “You don’t worry somuch about what the horsethinks,” shesaid.

That is useful for an eating disor-der patient, said Sari Shepphird, aclinical psychologist and eatingdisorders specialist in West LosAngeles, who sometimes refers pa-tients toEAP.

She said the therapy eases pa-tients into trusting relationships. Asubstantialpercentagecomesfromtumultuousbackgrounds.

“Equine therapy is again a niceway to show, ‘you can be goodenough. You can be good enoughto have a relationship with anotherbeing, who is not going to com-ment on what you weigh, who isgoing to respond to your uniquegiftsof talentandpersonality.’ ”

Learning about yourselfThe work does not always deal

with mental health issues. For ex-ample, Eye Of A Horse providesequine-assisted learning to sportsteams that want to learn how tocommunicate better and use non-verbal cues with teammates. Somepeople want to learn more aboutthemselves; how assertive arethey, how much influence do theyhave, how good are they at settingboundaries?

Horsescanhelp.Pollock of Epona Rivers de-

scribes the learning process as amethod of distinguishing the feel-ings you create by the thoughts inyourheadfromauthenticemotion.

“This whole program, this wholemethodology is about processingyour life, and your experiences inyour life, and your relationships inyour life to create a positive frame

of mind and to activate the positivemind,”shesaid.

Eight teens from the Bright StarCenter for Grieving Children andFamilies, part of Hospice of HealthFirst, came away from a weeklongday program at Epona Rivers lastsummer knowing how to setboundaries. Horses, like people,will invadeyourspace.

They also learned to pay atten-tion to their environment, quiettheir minds and cope with somehardemotions.

“You could just see them relax,”saidCynthiaKoppler,whorunstheprogram. “Theboundaryworkwasso important. Being able to setboundaries and say, ‘This is what Ido and don’t want for myself, andit’s OK. I have the right to set thatboundary.’ You have a right to saynotopeople.”

As for EAP, the future looksbright. Researchers have beenstudying the effects of equine-as-sisted psychotherapy for morethan10years.Althoughsomestud-ies are more scientific than others,there is credible research on EAPin peer-reviewed publications,Wise said. With even more suppor-tive research conducted in 2009and 2010, she is inviting graduatestudents from Florida Tech andUniversity of Central Florida to getinvolved at The Equine EducationCenteratForeverFlorida.

Hamrick said he would love tocontinuewithEAP.

“I was really impressed with thehorse. I think I fell in love with it,”he said. “You got a horse, a big ani-mal I’m amazed by. I think I’d liketo interact with the horse more.Kind of like we understood eachother a little bit—instinctivewise. Ithink maybe some positive thingscan come for maybe the horse andmeboth.”Contact Scott at 321-242-3612or mkscott@floridatoday.com.

Photo courtesy of Holly Pollock

“Horses are an amazingmirror (of people).When people are

out with them, they buildan awareness of

themselves that theywould have never had. ”

Holly Pollock,owner, Epona Rivers

Rik Jesse, FLORIDA TODAY

Bonding. Chris Hamrick of Palm Bay makes friends with La Nina at Forever Florida in St. Cloud. La Nina lost her rearleg after it became tangled in barbed wire. Hamrick lost part of his left leg during the first Gulf War.

Equine therapiesEpona Rivers, an equine-facilitated learning and yogacenter, is at KingswoodStables, 2165 Glatter Road,Malabar. For moreinformation, call321-543-3809 or visitwww.eponarivers.com.

Eye Of A Horse offersequine-assistedpsychotherapy/learning atThe Equine Education Centerat Forever Florida, 4755 N.Kenansville Road, St. Cloud.For more information, callpsychologist Sandra Wise at321-749-0216 or visitwww.EyeOfaHorse.com.

Royal-crazy Yanks in London for reality show Clifford: Big Wheelsare a big nuisance?BY JILL LAWLESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON — You may beinterested in the royal wed-ding.Enthusiasticeven.

But you probably are notas excited as Allison Lackey,a 24-year-old from Chicagowho happilyadmits tospend-ing too much time contem-plating Prince William andKateMiddleton’snuptials.

“I’ve been thinking a lotabout the logistics,” Lackeysays.

That’s the logistics of herown day on April 29, not thechallenge of marshaling2,000 guests, tens of thou-sands of well-wishers and avast global television audi-ence to view the royal wed-ding at London’s Westmin-sterAbbey.

“I’m going to get homefrom work, literally gostraight to bed, get up at mid-night, make some tea andstart watching the coverage,”Lackey said. Later, there willbe high tea at Chicago’s sto-ried Drake Hotel. “It’s goingtobeabig24hours.”

Lackey is royallyobsessed.The corporate communica-tions manager wears a rep-lica of Princess Diana’s wed-ding ring her boyfriend gaveher for Christmas and isthrowing a bacheloretteparty in honor of Middleton,the soon-to-be British prin-cess. (Needless to say, Mid-dletonwon’tbeattending).

Who better than Lackey tobe a contestant on “RoyallyMad,” a BBC reality showthat brings five crown-crazyAmericans to London on a

tourofsites repletewithroyalhistory?

Contestants also pit theirroyal wits against one an-other to compete for a “mys-tery grand prize” — which isnot, alas, an invitation to theWestminster Abbey cere-mony.

The show, which airs intwo parts on Tuesday andApril 19 on BBC America,follows the five Americans asthey visit Westminster Ab-bey, get a polo lesson fromWilliam’s instructor, try onhats at the Philip Treacy bou-tique and spend an eveningat Mahiki, a nightclub fa-vored by the young royals.There also is a makeoverfrom Middleton’s stylist anda tour of Kensington Palace

with a friend of the late Prin-cessDiana.

The contestants — fourwomenandoneman—comeacross as likable, frighten-ingly knowledgeable aboutthe monarchy and unabash-edly crazy about all thingsroyal.

“Their enthusiasm is com-pletely infectious,” said CatDeeley, a British TV person-ality who hosts the show andis oneof itsexecutiveproduc-ers.

“Royally Mad” is one of aslate of BBC programs aimedat tapping the vast Americanappetite for royal weddingcoverage. The network alsoplans to show the BBC’s do-mestic coverage of the cere-mony commercial-free on itsAmericanchannel.

Deeley, who presents TVshows in her native Englandand in the U.S. — where shehosts“SoYouThinkYouCanDance” — has been mullingoverwhysomanyAmericansare so very interested in theBritishroyalfamily.

“I think it’s because theyjust don’t have one them-selves,”Deeleysaid.

“On both sides of the At-lantic, we’re brought up withfairy stories and princes andprincesses and living happilyever after. The closest thingthey have is the first lady andthe president, and I don’tthink there has been any-body in the glamour stakessince the Kennedys,” shesaid.

ForLackey andfellowcon-testant Holly Passalaqua,royal mania was forged inchildhood, nurtured bymothers who passed on theirlove for the late Princess Di-ana, and memories of herfairytale wedding to PrinceCharlesin1981.

Lackey said one of herearliest memories is royal-related.

“I was a flower girl for myaunt’s wedding,” she said.“I’d never been to a weddingbefore, I didn’t know what toexpect. My mom was tryingto put it into perspective forme and she said, ‘Let meshow you my own favoritewedding’ ”—andproducedavideo of Charles and Diana’sceremony.

“That was my first intro-duction to the pomp and cir-cumstance and the delightthat happens at those bigroyaloccasions.”

CLIFFORD, from 1D

led to a lawsuit.The Persim-mons Place board is consult-ing an attorney and couldvoteontherulesApril27.

TheparentsofPersimmonPlace, however, aren’t tak-ing the play ban sitting downinsidewiththeirkids.

“This is just a bunch of oldladies on a power trip,” An-gela Hatten told the DaytonaBeach News-Journal.

And Lenore Skenazy,sometimes called “Ameri-ca’s Worst Mom” becauseshe let her 9-year-old ridethe New York subway alonein 2008, has taken up thecause, posting this mani-festo on her Free-RangeKids blog:

“The point is: Kids de-serve to play outside. Itdoesn’t even seem like itshould be legal to ban this,anymore than banning eat-

ing or sleeping. But ofcourse, it’s all about ‘safety,’the word that sneaks into somany debates, legitimatelyor not, and often stuns allcommon sense. I hope thekids storm this meeting intheir roller skates. It is timefor a revolution.”

I’d be more inclined to be-lieve the board membershad merely children’s safety— and not a cranky anti-kidagenda — in mind if theyhadn’t included the provi-sions against noisy play.

Because I remember justhow annoying the sound of aherd of Big Wheels barrelingdown the sidewalk can be.

And how much my kidsloved to ride them.Contact Clifford at aclifford@floridatoday.com.

BBC

Royal jewels. Holly Passalaqua from the “Royally Mad” TVshow visits Garrard, the Royal jewelers, in London. The BBCprogram aims to tap the vast American appetite for royalwedding coverage.

Sunday 4/10/2011Arthur (PG-13) 10:15 AM 12:35 PM 2:55 PM 5:20 PM 7:35 PM 9:55 PM

Hanna (PG-13) 10:20 AM 12:35 PM 2:55 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:50 PM

Your Highness (R) 10:30 AM 12:50 PM 3:00 PM 5:10 PM 7:20 PM 9:40 PM

Hop (PG) 10:20 AM 12:30 PM 2:40 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:10 PM

Insidious (PG-13) 10:35 AM 12:55 PM 3:05 PM 5:15 PM 7:25 PM 9:45 PM

Source Code (PG-13) 10:15 AM 12:15 PM 2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM

The 5th Quarter (PG-13) 10:25 AM 12:45 PM 2:50 PM 5:05 PM 7:15 PM 9:20 PM

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 2 (PG) 10:35 AM 12:40 PM 2:45 PM 4:55 PM 7:10 PM 9:15 PM

Limitless (PG-13) 10:40 AM 1:00 PM 3:10 PM 5:20 PM 7:35 PM 10:05 PM

Lincoln Lawyer (R) 7:30 PM 9:55 PM

Rango (PG-13) 10:45 AM 1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:20 PMFT-0000404556

Coming soon in IMAXFAST FIVE