Equine Therapy for Children and Teens From the State of South Dakota
Equine-assisted therapy is particularly efficient in tackling the underlying issues of at-risk teenage girls from South Dakota who suffer from trauma, clinical stress, depressive ailments, PTSD, and other severe mental health-related problems.
Equine therapy effectively treats troubled teens because teens feel less threatened and put on the spot as they would with traditional one-on-one talk therapy. This is particularly valuable because teens - whose frontal lobe is not yet entirely developed - regularly find it frightening and immensely difficult to communicate emotional pain and underlying issues.
Troubled teens generally find it challenging to loosen up and show well-hidden painful emotions and events. Equine-assisted psychotherapy enables teenage girls from South Dakota to work on issues like:
- Self-reliance
- Cultivating and maintaining relationships or connections with others
- Emotional IQ
- Compassion
- Impulse control
- Problem-solving abilities
- Social skills
- Establish trust in others
- Trust in self
- Benefits of Equine Therapy for Troubled Girls from South Dakota
Although numerous animals can be used in experiential, animal-assisted therapy, horses offer unparalleled characteristics that have made them a top selection for animal-assisted treatments. According to anxiety expert Dr. Robin Zasio, horses bring unique components to the therapy process for troubled teenage girls from the South Dakota.
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Horses are great motivators. For example, they force teens to wake up early and feed and water them. Girls from South Dakota participate in myriad equine-related activities at an equine therapeutic program, including cleaning stalls. Some programs even allow their students to earn wages to buy additional provisions that help maintain horse properties. Moreover, horses must be brushed, walked, and closely attended to.
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At an EAT program, teenage girls from the South Dakota area participate in activities that are not always easy or pleasant in any way.
While at such a program, teens tend to the daily needs of others (horses).
What's more, teens at an equine-assisted therapy program learn how to work to maintain their relationships. By interacting and taking care of horses, teens learn to take care of something other than themselves. However, these skills can be applied to human relationships by participating and immersing themselves in equine therapy.
As much as humans, especially therapists, do our best to offer a safe space for clients to explore deep emotional hurts and painful experiences, it can be uncomfortable for clients to share their thoughts openly.
Building therapeutic rapport can take time as participants work toward building trust and practicing vulnerability in session.
Having the horse present may offer a sense of peace, as they only will react to the client's behavior and emotions with no threat of bias or any judgment of their emotional experience.
Feedback and Mirroring
Horses are keen observers and are vigilant and sensitive to movement and emotion. As a result, they often mirror a client's behavior or feelings, conveying an understanding and connection that allows them to feel safe.
This also allows patients to have a sense of self-awareness, using the horse's behavior and communications for feedback and opportunities to check in and manner what is happening at the moment.
Managing Vulnerability
As clients might find themselves vulnerable when trying to open up about emotional challenges, past experiences, or life transitions, the horse can offer a reference point to use for processing.
If something feels too painful to speak of, it can feel a bit easier for clients to process using the horse as an example or to align their experience with the horse's experiences at the moment. But, again, externalizing the content in this way can make things easier to approach and process.
Other Benefits
- Some other potential benefits of equine therapy include increased:
- Adaptability
- Distress tolerance
- Emotional awareness
- Independence
- Impulse control
- Self-esteem
- Social awareness
- Social relationships
Horses also require work. They must be fed, watered, exercised, and groomed. Providing this type of care can often be therapeutic. It helps establish routines and structure, and the act of caring and nurturing something else can help build empathy.
South Dakota Mental Health Resources for Troubled Youth
MasterNet is the first choice for South Dakota parents exploring a top therapeutic boarding school to deliver support to their troubled child taking part in meth abuse/addiction, anger misconduct, or bipolar disorder related challenges. Because working with highly resistant teen girls is challenging, most programs rely on level systems, punishments, and other behavioral techniques to manage a young client’s behavior. Here at MasterNet, we recognize that the circumstances of one struggling child doesn’t always apply to all of our young clients. Because of this, MasterNet is dedicated to the life skills development and experiential education for each teen girl, and we do this with professionalism and care.
Because working with highly resistant teenage girls is challenging, most programs rely on level systems, punishments, and other behavioral techniques to manage the teen girl’s behavior. However, MasterNet recognizes that the personal circumstances of one troubled child doesn’t always apply to all of our young clients. Because of this, MasterNet’s experienced clinicians are dedicated to the management of each teenagers requirements; and they do this with professionalism and sympathy. At MasterNet, we involve the entire family (especially the parents) in the teenager’s therapy, remediation, and support. MasterNet has served numerous troubled teen girls over the years. Our track record has proven to cause life changing results for our young clients and their families.
Contact MasterNet today at (435) 574-4518 to speak with one of our expert family consultants. They are readily available to answer any questions about our enrollment fees, insurance affiliations, and proximity to South Dakota. Make MasterNet and their therapeutic boarding school a life-changing and memorable experience for both your family and your troubled child.
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