Horses Helping Veterans

Whispers with Horses is a psychotherapy incorporating horses for Veterans, which focuses on helping participants to develop, or enhance existing, mindfulness and self-compassion practice skills.  Participants learn these skills in the context of forming a relationship with an equine partner.

This class is provided in a six-session individual therapy format. Each session includes meditation, discussion and spending time with a horse. Participants work with the same horse at each session in order to develop a relationship with that equine through grooming and leading. There is no riding and horse experience is not required. For those that complete the initial six sessions, there is an option to participate in a six-session level 2 class.

Veterans may self-refer to this class.  For more information call: 801-582-1565, ext. 3025

In addition, mental health staff provide psychotherapy incorporating horses for Veterans enrolled in some specialized treatment programs.

Heather Pierson, Ph.D. is the Whole Health Service Chief and a clinical psychologist at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System.  She is certified by Eagala to provide equine-assisted psychotherapy, as well as being a trained facilitator and longtime practitioner of mindfulness and self-compassion. She has worked with Veterans for ~20 years, and feels honored to be able to contribute to increasing their well-being through the combination of mindfulness and equine services.

Dr. Ryan Lackner is a clinical psychologist within the Whole Health Service at the Salt Lake City VAMC.  He is a trained teacher of evidenced-based mindfulness and self-compassion interventions, including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Mindful Self Compassion (MSC). He also holds a 200-hour yoga instructor certification and teaches other mind-body interventions, including therapeutic drumming, mindful nature exposure, and mindfulness for couples. More recently, he started merging his experience in mindfulness and self-compassion interventions with Equine Assisted Psychotherapy to provide the Whispers with Horses program. Ryan has maintained a long-term, personal mindfulness and self-compassion practice and enjoys playing drums and guitar, exercising, cooking, and being outdoors. His passion in psychology lies in creating connection with other human beings and spending time in his life helping others to live theirs more fully.

National Ability Center

The National Ability Center empowers individuals of all abilities by building self-esteem, confidence and lifetime skills through sport, recreation and educational programs. Learn more about the National Ability Center.

Rebel Soul Wranglers Horse Ranch and Training School

A private equine facility offering horsemanship training in addition to psychotherapy incorporating horses.  For more information, contact ljfinnell72@gmail.com.

Innovation

The Horses Helping Veterans program has focused on innovation and research in addition to providing clinical services.

The Whispers with Horses intervention was developed at the Salt Lake VA to be a manualized, and ultimately evidence-based, psychotherapy incorporating horses for Veterans and others. An initial pilot study demonstrated potential benefit and additional studies are ongoing. If shown to be effective by more rigorous studies, the ultimate goal is to disseminate the intervention to the equine-assisted services field.

• The study publication, Evaluation of a mindfulness and self-compassion-based psychotherapy incorporating horses for Veterans who have experienced trauma

Research

In addition to the development and evaluation of Whispers with Horses, literature reviews and studies of other equine interventions have been conducted and results published in peer reviewed scientific journals. Published articles can be access below, organized by topic.

Horsemanship skills training for Veterans with PTSD

• A pilot observational study of horsemanship skills training for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

Equine-assisted services for Veterans with addictive disorders

• A Pilot Observational Study of Implementing an Equine-Assisted Services Program Within a VA Medical Center Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program
• A Pilot Replication Study of Implementing an Equine-Assisted Services Program Within a VA Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program
• A pilot observational study of recreational trail riding for Veterans with addictive disorders
• Examining the Psychological Measures and Feasibility of Recreational Trail Rides in Reducing Cravings for Addictive Substances among Veterans: A Replication Pilot Study

Equine-assisted services for medical staff resiliency

• A pilot observational study of a psychotherapy incorporating equines resiliency intervention for staff at a large medical center
• A replication study of a psychotherapy incorporating horses resiliency intervention for healthcare workers

Reviews of the literature

• Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies for Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Current State, Challenges and Future Directions
• Potential Mechanisms of Action and Outcomes of Equine-Assisted Services for Veterans with a History of Trauma: A Narrative Review of the Literature