Welcome to Eagala: Transforming Mental Health with Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy and Learning
At Eagala, the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, we are dedicated to enhancing mental health treatment by training and certifying professionals in equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning. Eagala brings together licensed Mental Health Professionals and qualified Equine Specialists worldwide, teaching how to co-facilitate equine sessions. This model enables the team to offer a unique and effective psychotherapy or learning experience that has shown positive results when addressing issues such as PTSD, addiction, domestic abuse, behavioral disorders, depression, anxiety, and trauma. In our learning category, the Eagala model has also been utilized to address team building with organizations, working with kids in a learning environment, and other learning opportunities.
Our training and certifications have been empowering mental health professionals and equine specialists worldwide for over 20 years, teaching teams how to incorporate equine-assisted psychotherapy and/or learning into their practice and allowing the Eagala team to offer clients a unique and impactful way to address their mental health concerns.
Eagala-Trained Specialists Work Toward Their Strengths
For mental health professionals and equine specialists, the Eagala Model offers a unique opportunity to enhance their credentials without the requirement to completely cross-train in each other’s fields. Licensed Mental Health Professionals can enrich their therapeutic methods by integrating equine-assisted practices, while Equine Specialists can apply their expertise within the mental health around equine behaviors to help facilitate growth and learning.
This collaborative approach allows each professional team to focus on their strengths, creating a powerful synergy that has shown to be beneficial to clients. If you are a mental health professional or a horse specialist who wants this unique training, go to our certification page for upcoming training.
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Ground-Based Therapy: Freedom for Horses, Empowerment for Clients
The Eagala Model emphasizes a boots-on-the-ground approach, meaning all therapy sessions are conducted on the ground without riding the horses. This method respects horses’ natural behavior and instincts, allowing them to act freely and authentically within the therapeutic process. For clients, ground-based therapy and learning provides an accessible environment to explore their emotions and experiences.
The absence of riding reduces physical risks and shifts the focus to the experiential therapeutic interaction between the client and the horse. This ground-based team dynamic with the horses has shown to enable clients a space to discover solutions and achieve lasting personal growth, leveraging the horses’ genuine responses to foster deep insights and healing.
The Eagala Model offers several unique benefits, including:
NON-JUDGMENTAL REFLECTION:
Horses mirror clients’ emotions and behaviors, providing unbiased feedback that can lead to significant personal insights.
BUILDING TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS:
Working with horses promotes the development of trust, improved communication skills, and healthier relationships.
ENHANCED EMOTIONAL REGULATION:
Interacting with horses helps clients learn to manage and regulate their emotions in a supportive environment.
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ENGAGEMENT:
The physical activity involved in equine-assisted psychotherapy contributes to clients’ overall well-being and supports the therapeutic process.
Where can I find Eagala-certified professionals in the US?
Eagala-certified professionals can be found across the United States. Visit our Programs page to access our directory and locate certified therapists and equine specialists in your area. These professionals are trained to deliver high-quality equine-assisted psychotherapy using the Eagala Model, ensuring you receive the best possible care.
By choosing Eagala-certified professionals, you are embracing a transformative approach to mental health treatment that leverages the healing power of horses. Explore the directory to find certified therapists and equine specialists near you and take the first step towards holistic healing and personal growth.
The Benefits of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy Near You
Equine-assisted psychotherapy, grounded in the Eagala Model, provides a distinctive and powerful therapeutic approach. Horses, known for their perceptive and non-judgmental nature, play a crucial role in helping clients gain insights and foster personal growth. The presence of horses in therapy sessions has been shown to help clients develop emotional regulation, build trust, and improve communication skills.
By engaging with horses, clients can explore their emotions and behaviors in a safe and supportive environment, which can lead to profound healing and recovery. Mental health awareness and treatment are critical components of overall well-being. In the world, millions of individuals struggle with mental health issues such as PTSD, addiction, domestic abuse, behavioral disorders, depression, anxiety, and trauma.
Despite the prevalence of these challenges, many people do not receive the treatment they need due to stigma, lack of resources, or unawareness of available therapies. At Eagala, we are committed to changing this narrative by promoting innovative and effective mental health treatments.
Start Your Journey Today
Explore our directory to find an Eagala training and certification opportunity near you. By increasing your practice to include Eagala Model work, you will be opening a whole new world for your clients. As a horse specialist, this is an ideal way to reinvigorate horses who may especially enjoy on the ground work. Horses young to old can find this unique work very purposeful. Just by doing, moving, and reacting as they do (or by not moving or reacting in some cases), horses naturally make change happen in clients. This symbiotic interaction activates both proactive and reactive shifts in clients while encouraging them also to make changes in their beliefs, actions, and behaviors in order to see different results in the relationship.