Psychotherapy Incorporating Horses

Psychotherapy Incorporating Horses is offered only in the context of Warrior Camp® – we do not offer it independently of the program.

PSYCHOTHERAPY INCORPORATING HORSES 

This is a powerful approach that includes horses as part of a psychotherapy team. The other members of the team are a licensed mental health professional and an equine specialist professional. 

All work with the horses takes place on the ground only – there is no riding and there are no instruments of control or domination (no halters or lead lines) which allows the horses to be “at liberty” and to interact with warriors in whatever way they choose.

WHY HORSES?

Because the horse, as a non-verbal communicator, gives immediate feedback about actions and body language through their own response.

Horses are exceptionally sensitive and are able to read emotions and intention. This is how they stay alive in the wild, as individuals, and as a herd.

We learn what is going on with our human clients by watching what the horses are doing.

Specifically:

• Horses live in the present moment. They respond to what is and to intention. Interacting with them teaches mindfulness, which can be a window into reclaiming life as it is lived in the here and now.
• Horses are active. Working with them necessitates movement and grounding, which decreases arousal and dissociation. Mindfulness, grounding, movement and working in the present moment all increase the individual’s capacity to experience the present rather than responding to the traumatic past.
• Horses are social animals. Their natural curiosity and playfulness is, at times, so powerful as to supersede their interest in food. Being invited to interact with them overcomes isolation and supports people’s interest in novelty. This helps to re-engage the frontal lobes, increasing the capacity to think.
• Horses are non-judgemental. They accept people and other horses as they are, without bias or discrimination.
• Horses live in a herd. They model non-predatory group behavior and can teach people how to interact without violence.

Psychotherapy Incorporating Horses for Veterans with Moral Injury and/or PTSD

Horses are prey animals. This means they are highly sensitive to body language, nervous system cues, and emotional congruence. In therapy, they offer immediate, nonverbal feedback. Their responses can reveal patterns in trust, stress, avoidance, control, disconnection, and relationship dynamics that may be difficult to reach through words alone.

For veterans who feel shut down, on edge, or disconnected, this creates a different kind of therapeutic encounter — one that is active, present, relational, and grounded in real-time feedback.

At Warrior Camp® we conduct daily group sessions to for Moral Injury repair.

We understand that combat veterans are not traumatized or exposed to potentially morally Injurious events in isolation. Their trauma and Moral Injury happens in the context of a highly trained, closely knit, cohesive unit. And so healing needs to happen in a group.