Equine assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is an emerging experiential methodology<br />that has recently gained recognition as a method for addressing a range of presenting<br />problems for a wide variety of client populations. Couples therapy is one area that the<br />practice of equine assisted psychotherapy has recently gained traction. This study<br />describes the practice of equine assisted couples therapy in terms of practitioner<br />characteristics, approach to treatment, therapeutic goals and outcomes. Mental health<br />professionals currently using equine assisted psychotherapy to treat couples share their<br />experiences and perspectives to provide an overview of this emerging modality. / Master of Science

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The Introduction and Advanced Equine Assisted Family Therapy (EAFT) courses offered at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) provide graduate Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) student therapists the space to learn about collaborating with horses for therapeutic and educational purposes. However, these courses also offer the potential for a unique dimension to self of the therapist development. Through these courses, student therapists are able to learn theory and application of an innovative experiential model for clients, but also utilize the activities to get to know themselves better as emerging therapists. The purpose of this study was to explore if and how the learning that occurs within the EAFT courses transfers into traditional talk therapy sessions. More specifically, the study explored how students utilized the experiential process of learning within the courses to further their understanding of the self of the therapist. The conversations that unfolded from reviewing MFT student therapists’ video recorded talk therapy sessions at the Brief Therapy Institute’s family therapy clinic served as the data. Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) was used to inquire about this process, including specifically how it relates to self of the therapist development.

Introduktion: Hästunderstödd terapi (HUT) är ett växande kunskapsområde där studier visat välgörande effekter i flertalet patientgrupper. Att beskriva HUT generellt har försvårats av metodologiska orsaker. Eftersom HUT i klinisk praxis används som komplement till grundprofessioner, vill denna studie fördjupa kunskapen utifrån fysioterapeutiskt perspektiv. Därigenom kan HUT beskrivas med en tydlig koppling till klinisk användbarhet.  Syfte: Att undersöka OHI-certifierade fysioterapeuters erfarenheter av att arbeta med HUT utifrån ett perspektiv av rörelse. Metod: Kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer med elva OHI-certifierade fysioterapeuter. Materialet analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys av Graneheim och Lundman. Som teoretiskt ramverk användes ”The movement continuum Theory of Physical Therapy”. Resultat: Temat ”Hästen och dess miljö berikar det fysioterapeutiska arbetssättet” byggs av fyra subteman och nio sub-subteman. HUT har potential att berika fysioterapeutiskt arbetssätt  genom inverkan på flera nivåer av rörelse samtidigt. Ridmomentet kan ge externa förutsättningar som verkar rörelsefrämjande, men innebär också ett professionellt omdöme i avvägningen mellan nytta och riskmomentet. Genom HUT upplevs resurser att stimulera interna faktorer såsom motivation och engagemang samt sociala faktorer i alliansen. HUT upplevs stötta ett resursfokuserat förhållningssätt till rörelse, där kropp, sinne och känsla har en given plats.   Slutsats: Hur HUT berikar professionen beror på fysioterapeutens val utifrån syfte, yrkeskunskap och personliga kompetens. Det breda användningsområdet ger möjligheter att använda HUT i mötet med olika målgrupper. När arbetssättet i HUT beskrivs i sammanhanget av fysioterapi kan komplexiteten i HUT förstås, och termer som evidensbaserad praktik kommer inom räckhåll. / Introduction: The knowledge of Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) is growing, and studies describe beneficial effects in various groups of patients. Describing EAT in general has been difficult due to methodological reasons. Since EAT in clinical practice serves as a complement to professions, this study wants to deepen the knowledge from a physiotherapeutic perspective. EAT can thereby be described with a clear connection to clinical applicability. Aims: Investigate OHI-certified physiotherapists' experiences of working with EAT from a perspective of movement. Methods: Qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with eleven OHI-certified physiotherapists, using qualitative content analysis by Graneheim and Lundman. As theoretical framework "The movement continuum Theory of Physical Therapy" was used.. Results: The theme ”The horse and its environment enriches the physiotherapeutic practice” is based on four sub themes and nine sub-sub themes. EAT has potential to enrich physiotherapeutic practice by influencing several levels of movement simultaneously. Riding can provide external conditions promoting movement, also involving professional judgment between benefits and elements of risk.  Resources to stimulate internal factors as motivation, commitment, and social factors in the alliance were experienced. EAT is perceived to support a resource-focused approach to movement, where body, mind and emotion are involved.  Conclusion: How EAT enriches the profession depends on the physiotherapist's decisions based on purpose, professional knowledge, and personal competence. The versatility provides opportunities to use EAT with different populations. When clinical practice of EAT are described in context of physiotherapy, the complexity of EAT can be understood, and terms as evidence-based practice come within reach.

Historically, the horse has in many ways been important to human beings. Today, Equine Assisted Therapy is a form of treatment in which the horse is used as a tool from the treatment of the client. Supported Equine therapy has a therapeutic purpose and may vary depending on the patient's needs and the professionals work competence. Various studies show that animals have a positive impact on people. The aim of our study was to explore how Equine Assisted Therapy is used within the practical fields of social work in Sweden. We wanted to  illustrate how professionals in different social work settings utilize this form of treatment. Based on our purpose we have chosen to use a qualitative approach in which we interviewed five professionals who work with Equine Assisted Therapy as treatment method in various activities. In our results, we present the strengths and weaknesses according to the professionals; which approach they consider relevant and how a treatment session might look like.

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Esta tese trata de investigar as configurações das práticas equestres no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, no século XX. A proposição da pesquisa parte da noção de que as práticas tiveram um papel relevante para a história do Rio Grande do Sul, em particular nos campos da sociabilidade, lazer e preservação das culturas. No cenário sul-rio-grandense, a pesquisa dedica atenção ao desenvolvimento das carreiras de cancha reta, do turfe, do hipismo, do tiro de laço, do freio de ouro e da equoterapia. Tais práticas equestres foram conjecturadas por uma perspectiva socio-histórica, cuja análise foi guiada pela categoria ―configuração‖. Esta foi operacionalizada a partir da obra de Norbert Elias, conduzindo o estudo no sentido de compreender o processo de emergência, distinção e as relações de interdependência estabelecidas entre as práticas equestres no estado. A investigação assentou-se na análise de documentos escritos e impressos, os quais foram concebidos enquanto materiais e textos históricos, portadores de mensagens, sentidos e intuitos reservados à sua conjuntura. As fontes revelaram que o processo de desenvolvimento de configurações no cenário equestre sul-rio-grandense sublinhou uma reconstrução da variada e heterogênea rede de interdependências entre os domínios socializadores representados pelas corridas de cavalos, pelo hipismo, pela equoterapia e pelo tiro de laço. De igual forma, as transformações ocorridas no contexto destes domínios socializadores, ao longo do tempo, derivam das relações de interdependência entre os mesmos, nas esferas do trabalho, da cultura, do lazer, do esporte e da reabilitação. Por conseguinte, a noção de configuração entre práticas equestres pode auxiliar a compreender um campo mais amplo de interações e intercâmbios entre os esportes em geral enquanto domínios socializadores. / This thesis is to investigate the configurations of equestrian practices in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the twentieth century. The proposition of the research builds on the notion that the practices had a significant role in the history of Rio Grande do Sul, in particular in the fields of sociability, leisure and preservation of cultures. In the scenario of Rio Grande do Sul, the research devoted attention to the development of straight line horse races, horse racing, equestrianism, shot of lasso with horse and equine-assisted therapy. Such equestrian practices were conjectured by a sociohistorical perspective, whose analysis was guided by the category "configuration". This was operationalized from Norbert Elias work, leading the study in order to understand the process of emergence, distinction and interdependence of relations between the equestrian sports practices in the state. The research was based on the analysis of written and printed documents, which are designed as historical materials and texts, carrying messages, meanings and intentions reserved to their conjuncture. The sources revealed that a configuration development process in Rio Grande do Sul‘s equestrian scene emphasized a reconstruction of the varied and heterogeneous network of independencies between socializing areas represented by the horse racing, equestrian sports, equine-assisted therapy and shot of lasso with horse. Similarly, the changes occurred in the context of these socializing areas, over time, derived from the interrelationship between them, in the spheres of work, culture, leisure, sport and rehabilitation. Therefore, the notion of a configuration between equestrian practices can help understanding a new broader field of interactions and exchanges between the sports in general as socializing areas.

of Diploma Thesis Social Cognition with horse's assistance Adela Pfannova 2017 Social Cognition is an area of psychology, which evaluates how people perceive others, relations and events in their social environment. Improving skills in this area is beneficial for different parts of life of a person and for the whole society. Consequences can be the development of prosocial behaviour, collaboration, and decrease in aggressive behaviour and in perceiving people through stereotypes. These skills can be improved with Equine Assisted Activities, which I further write about in this Thesis. With the inspiration of Natural horsemanship or Equitation Science, it is possible to try to understand horse's cognition, which differs a lot from human perspective. Horses are social animals, which are sensitive for signals from their environment and quick in responses to them. Because they are naturally living in herd hierarchy, they are trying to clear social positions with humans as well. That makes humans to realize their current place in hierarchy and to communicate it. Horse's influence on people is complex and it can affect all parts of their personality, which I describe as bio- psychosocial-spiritual. It is possible to use horse's positive effect for Treatment or Therapy.

The benefits of horse therapy for special needs children have been documented for centuries, but direct experience and perspective from special needs children and their families involved in horse therapy are missing from the literature. The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding on the health, well-being, and ecological impacts of horse therapy for special needs children, and to demonstrate how horse therapy aligns with public health, by interviewing 8 special needs families who utilize the therapy, 8 adults who underwent horse therapy as children, and 12 ecological experts in local communities. Data were hand-coded and organized based on the phenomenology of the horse, the ethnography of horse and horse therapy culture and environment, and grounded theory to explain how and why horse therapy works. All 16 horse therapy participants with diverse challenges and limitations reported a successful experience with concrete changes in health and/or well-being as a result of horse therapy; all 12 ecological experts endorsed horse therapy centers as beneficial fixtures within the communities, despite obvious challenges, such as funding, in running them. Horse therapy can be used to help and support a wide-range of special needs families; horse therapy centers are beneficial assets to local communities and their public health programs. With respect to the social change implications of this study, the information can be used by community members (e.g., doctors, health professionals, occupational therapists, families) to better understand horse therapy and its benefits for special needs children. In an attempt to improve access and promote horse therapy as a viable public health initiative, a basic blueprint for horse therapy center start-up operations has been provided for local communities.

I Sociologiskt perspektiv på Hästunderstödd terapi studeras hur deltagares upplevelser och effekter av Hästunderstödd terapi med någon form av psykosocial inriktning kan förstås ur ett sociologiskt perspektiv. Fyra artiklar som behandlar Hästundersstödd terapi analyseras med ett konstruktivistiskt förhållningssätt och en induktiv ansats har antagits. Resultatet av analysen ställs i relation till tidigare sociologisk forskning och sociologiska teorier som behandlar interaktion, kommunikation och relation mellan människa och djur. Resultatet mynnade i tre kategorier som står i relation till varandra. Kategorierna är: Sociala relationer, emotionell utveckling och identitetsskapande. Analysen visar att både det terapeutiska innehållet och målet med den Hästunderstödda terapin i de fyra analyserade artiklarna till största del innefattar sociala relationer. Utifrån detta dras slutsatsen att deltagares upplevelser och effekter av Hästunderstödd terapi låter sig förstås ur ett sociologiskt perspektiv, då sociala relationer är essentiellt inom sociologin.