Leading Equine-Assisted Mental Health Groups: An Exploratory Survey of Practitioner Characteristics, Practices, and Professional Development

An Exploratory Study into the Backgrounds and Perspectives of Equine-Assisted Service Practitioners

“…The vast majority of respondent practitioners were female and over 50 years of age. This profile concurs with other studies in the area [21,24]. One might have expected a slightly younger age profile given the relatively recent emergence of EAS as a career choice.…”

“…Although some previous studies have been conducted in regards to specific EAS practitioner groups [2,[20][21][22]24], this is the first published study of its kind to explore the perspectives of practitioners across the spectrum of Equine-Assisted Services.…”

“…This study's findings of high voluntary CPD attendance (40% >6 days/year) indicate that many practitioners are actively seeking knowledge to grow or maintain their skill set. The provision of high-quality evidence-based experiential workshops, an effective educational approach perceived to be beneficial and well received by practitioners [21], as well as more traditional evidence-based CPD approaches, may enhance and fill some of the knowledge or curriculum gaps that currently exist for some practitioners. It is imperative that core competencies in EAS are developed within the context of wellbeing and a One Health-One Welfare framework for all involved, ensuring consistency with EAS requirements and ethos.…”

“…Indeed, to our knowledge, there are few situations in which minimum education or competency standards exist for the provision of any EAS beyond what is required for mental or physical health professional competencies. In addition, practitioner perspectives, practice patterns, backgrounds, educational/training status, client base and perceived benefits and challenges have been poorly studied across the EAS spectrum, with most studies either unpublished [2,20], limited to specific practitioner groups [21] or of small sample sizes [22].…”