CAPE TOWN - Using horses as a therapy to help improve your mental health may seem a bit far-fetched to many, but two Cape Town specialists have managed to do just that, with patients reaping the fruits.
Brian Jacobs, a former patient at Claro Clinic, said he would always give up on a tough situation before interacting with the horses.
“When I saw the horse I got scared and didn’t want to even touch the animal.
“My coping mechanism of fleeing kicked in as always.
“I then cleared my mind and took my emotional baggage with me to the horse, took charge and started walking with her.
“When the horse got stuck I paused, took a breath, regrouped and marched forward.
“The horse eventually started trusting me.
“After the liberating therapy experience I’ve gained more confidence in myself, I’m more mindful and assertive going into a situation,” he said.
A former patient at the N1 City-based hospital, Johan Hendricks said it was a challenge at first, but then it got easier.
“It was a great experience to see how the horse reacts to you and especially to know how you are dealing with the obstacles and challenges you have in life.
“To people who suffer from an addiction there’s still hope for you.
“Remain humble and admit that you have a problem.
“There's people out there that want to help you and will support you. You as an individual have to take the first step and ask God to help you and to be with you through this time,” he said.
Claro Clinic, a mental health and addiction treatment facility in Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs and part of the Life Path Health Group has incorporated the treatment into their addiction programme.
It is soon going to be offered to all other Life Path Health hospitals.
Programme manager at Claro Clinic, Annalie Nienaber, said: “All participants highlight this as a pleasant variation from their usual treatment and help them to achieve insight and a breakthrough in certain stuck points that they experience.
“Insights which the patient also develops during this session is then also followed up by the treating team upon return.
“The beautiful scenic environment, with the compassionate interaction of Earth Soul Connection (ESC) staff and horses provide an ideal therapeutic milieu to confront difficult emotional issues and to grow through this experience,” she said.
Psychiatrist Karien Botha and horse specialist Gail Venecourt teamed up in 2019 to create ESC, which offers Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP).
EAP is a three-way partnership between psychotherapist, horse and horse specialist whose job is to “read" the horse behaviour and keep things safe.
Venecourt said the horse as psychotherapist in the EAP modality acts as a mirror to the patient's emotional status when placed in a stressful situation.
“Horses are large and intimidating when you have never handled them before.
“Patients are given tasks to accomplish with the horse without being given any horsemanship instruction.
“The unfamiliarity of the situation tends to trigger the person's default coping mechanisms and unhelpful emotions,” she said.
“The horse reacts to the emotional state of the patient, often not behaving as the patient expects.
“Karien and myself coach the patient on how to accomplish the tasks more effectively, explaining the behaviour of the horse where this is helpful.
“This provides the patients with immediate feedback on how their emotional state affects what they do and how it feels to make a change.
“The experience provides food-for-introspection on how to manage one’s emotional state and influence the subsequent behaviour,” she said.
Weekend Argus