Modeled after Doherty & Simmons’ (1996) study on the practice patterns of marriage and family therapists, this project explored similar questions about equine assisted/facilitated psychotherapists who are members of two main certification organizations, EAGALA and PATH Intl. An Internet survey distributed to equine assisted/facilitated practitioners across the country explored demographic information of the clinician, their clients, and their typical work setting. Equine assisted/facilitated psychotherapy is a growing field and gaining an understanding of the current position of the field allows for growth in areas that are currently underdeveloped within this sector of the mental health field.

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

<p dir="ltr">The need for affirming relational therapy is important for clients who identify as transgender and gender nonconforming - particularly during the process of their transition. Because of the conceptual overlap between the two approaches, the Satir Model of experiential therapy can be effectively applied to existing frameworks for affirming couple therapy. The study reflects the efficacy of this proposed model of therapy through a phenomenological case study. The results, their implications, and the application of the model are discussed.</p>

Symptom severity among veteran survivors with partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to increase, with approximately 40% of U.S. veterans reporting significant symptomology 10 years after initial onset of the condition. Veteran survivors often struggle to find therapeutic interventions that meet their specific needs and have a difficult time maintaining a therapy that is both equitable and evidenced based. Grounded in the Rogerian, client-centered theory, the purpose of this qualitative collective exploratory case study was to explore the effects of equine-facilitated psychotherapy with 3 veteran survivors with partial or full PTSD. A 4-stage process was used to collect data, including initial semistructured interviews, observations, photo-interviews, and researcher interpretations of photo-interviews. Data were transcribed, analyzed, and coded into within-case themes and cross case-themes. The principle findings revealed that veteran survivors with partial or full PTSD engaged in an equine-facilitated psychotherapy program had both here-and-now experiences and relational connection experiences with the horse. Many other significant details provided insight into the veteran participants' experiences with equine-facilitated psychotherapy, such as trust, connection, nonverbal communication, awareness, peace, decompression, communication, empathic reflection, congruence, reciprocity, concern, respect, and selflessness. These findings provide social change implications that may inform mental health professionals and counselor educators about the benefits of equine-facilitated psychotherapy with veteran survivors with partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder; the findings also provide structure to the use of equine-facilitated psychotherapy as an adjunct and/or alternative to traditional posttraumatic stress disorder treatments.

Cooking is a universal activity which all humans can relate to on some level. Historically, cooking has continued to connect people across cultures and time, simultaneously providing nutritive sustenance as well as socio- and psychological benefits. Medical and mental health practitioners only in recent years have utilized cooking in a therapeutic process, and most of those cooking activities available tend to focus on cooking from an occupational and nutrition-education stance. A gap in the literature pertaining to cooking and its therapeutic applications exists around the relational nature underlying the cooking process, especially as it pertains to couples. While marriage and family therapists have used a number of creative experiential modalities in therapy for years, such as art and music therapy, cooking has been especially underutilized in comparison, despite its therapeutic and relational applicability. Therefore, this study was conducted to offer a foundation for understanding how the interactions in a kitchen can highlight relational elements between people. Eight couples (16 participants) who have lived together for at least two years and who cook together often were interviewed in their homes. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was used for this study, and subsequent to data analysis, a three-part theory describing the relational components of couple’s cooking interactions emerged, called The Couple’s Cooking Triad. The theory is made up of Relationship Skills, Emotional Connections, and Languaging. Results from this study, organizing the complex interactions of couples in a kitchen, indicate further use by marriage and family therapists in an experiential therapeutic capacity.