Dancing with Horses: Combining Dance/Movement Therapy and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy

Ford, Candice

doi:10.1007/s10465-013-9156-z

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…We have found strong physical activity can also be therapeutic, such as in sports, dance or equine therapy (Ford, 2013;Koch, 2016;Koch et al, 2015;May et al, 2019;Rinehart, Jeste, & Wilson, 2018), or in shared movement-regulating programmes, such as that based on the agency-guiding education theory of Geoffrey Waldon (Solomon, Holland, & Middleton, 2012;Posner, 2016). In the activity of 'doing', the sensory and motor system embeds, supports and physically yolks experience to the active sensory-affective self.…”

Section: Implications For Self-improvement and Therapeutic Support Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disruption to Embodiment in Autism, and Its Repair

Delafield‐Butt¹,

Dunbar²,

Trevarthen³

2020

Preprint

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This paper offers a neuroscientific explanation of life with autism which recognises that human behaviour and experience is by nature both personal and interpersonal. With a focus on insights of Penelope Dunbar (Pum) who has lived with autism for decades, we explore an affective neuroscience understanding of autistic experience and how to work creatively with its impulses for health and personal development. Pum describes her autistic disruptions to the intra-personal coherence of her basic states of being, moving-with-feeling in self-awareness, and how this disturbance to her internal subjective coherence of mind challenges her capacity to self-regulate arousal, and communicate with others. By examination of the source of her problems in childhood and ways of working with them, Pum has clarified fundamental elements in the development of her capacity to regulate self-care in creative efforts that facilitate both affective embodiment and sensory-motor coherence in growth of understanding in her mind and body. With her advice we explore how current neurobiological insights in autism as a disruption to the regulation of affective embodiment and sensory-motor integration leads to new recommendations for therapeutic care to relieve autistic distress and restricted modes of being. Although particular to her circumstances and cultivated habits of autistic expression, this analysis offers insight into the fundamental nature of autism, and ways of positive working with one’s autistic nature for creative gains.

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Section: Implications For Self-improvement and Therapeutic Support Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disruption to Embodiment in Autism, and Its Repair

Delafield‐Butt¹,

Dunbar²,

Trevarthen³

2020

Preprint

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“…In addition to the influence of the horse’s embodied state and large size, participants noted that the automatic, inherent, and necessary movements that emerge when clients interact with horses facilitate embodiment as well. (Ford, 2013, p. 103)…”

Section: An Existential-integrative Approach To Equine-facilitated Psmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This experiential liberation challenges the Cartesian duality of a mind-body split and the reliance on cognitive, rational, and logical interpretation of the lived experience and unifies the experience of being-in-the-world as a bodymind (Dychtwald, 1950). Living in an embodied way can thus be seen as gaining, through the vehicle of awareness, the capacity to feel the ambient physical sensations of unfettered energy and aliveness as they pulse through our bodies.…”

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confidence: 93%

Amy’s Story: An Existential-Integrative Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy Approach to Anorexia Nervosa

Lac

2016

Journal of Humanistic Psychology

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This article offers an existential-integrative framework to working with anorexia nervosa within an equine-facilitated psychotherapy setting. The discussion provides an overview of how existential-integrative theories can be blended into equine-facilitated psychotherapy and offers an existentialintegrative perspective of anorexia nervosa. A case study illustrates the theories behind this blended approach in praxis. Keywords existential-integrative, equine-facilitated psychotherapy, anorexia nervosa An Existential-Integrative Framework Freedom is the perceived capacity for choice within the natural and selfimposed limitations of living. (Schneider, 2008, p. 35) Existential-integrative (EI) psychotherapy aims to alleviate the constraints that people feel bound to in their lives and calls attention to the choices available to them.

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“…Horses (equines) are an increasingly popular animal choice within therapy, as therapists become more aware of the extensive therapeutic enabling capabilities of the horse [ 22 ]. Horses are prey animals which heightens their sensitivity to their surroundings and encourages contact with their herd for validation, comfort, and reassurance [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Horses sense and respond to incongruencies between individuals' actions and their underlying feelings. Specifically, horses connect and engage with clients when the individual is perceived by the horse to be in a state of physical and emotional congruence [ 23 , 27 ]. Moreover, a unique opportunity for feedback and learning is presented to clients through the horses' ability to imitate their emotions in real time [ 28 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian Community and Health Professionals Perceptions of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy

Stapleton

Grimmett

2021

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

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Mental health conditions are increasingly prevalent in the Australian population, and despite the large evidence-based support for contemporary treatments, there are barriers which inhibit their efficacy. Thus, there is a perceived need for therapists to consider other therapeutic options which have potential to enhance treatment outcomes. There is increasing acceptance for complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) among general practitioners and clients/general community. Specifically, more than 70% of Australians utilize CAM. Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is an underutilized, culturally sensitive, complementary therapy, which has the potential to mitigate barriers of conventional therapy. The present study aimed to determine the level of knowledge about and general acceptance of EAP as a treatment for general psychopathology symptomology within community members and health professionals. The current sample included 144 community members and 55 health professionals, all with Australian citizenship. Data analysis comprised the independent t-test and two hierarchical multiple regressions. Results indicated that community members are significantly more accepting of EAP as a treatment compared to health professionals. Of the predictors tested, higher social support and openness within community members were significant predictors of accepting perceptions, and rural location was the only significant predictor for health professional’s accepting perceptions of EAP. This is one of the first studies to investigate perceptions of EAP outside the EAP field and through comparison between community members and health professionals. The current study identifies the need for future research to further investigate perceptions of EAP among Australian health professionals.

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Dancing with Horses: Combining Dance/Movement Therapy and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy

Cited by 13 publications

References 17 publications

Disruption to Embodiment in Autism, and Its Repair

Disruption to Embodiment in Autism, and Its Repair

Amy’s Story: An Existential-Integrative Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy Approach to Anorexia Nervosa

Australian Community and Health Professionals Perceptions of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy

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