Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy
Counseling & Therapy in Flower Mound, Lantana, Highland Village, Lewisville, Dallas, and Online throughout Texas.
What is Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy?
Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy is the decision to enter into a therapeutic partnership, and relationship, with a horse based on non-verbal communication. There will be the support of a licensed therapist (the one you have already been working with, or with our Equine Therapist, Carla Ervin, LCSW), and our Equine Specialist, Mark LoPalo, the owner of Equinection. You will undergo the journey of fully embodying your feelings and emotions, and will be able to receive immediate feedback from the horse on how you emotionally express yourself. In turn, you will experience a deepening connection with yourself and the world around you.
How is Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy done?
Equine facilitated psychotherapy can be offered as a stand-alone therapy, or in addition to your ongoing therapy. Before entering the pasture, your therapist and Mark will assist you in identifying therapeutic goals that you wish to work on or may feel stuck in. Activities will then be tailored to fit your identified goals and objectives. In addition, Mark will review with you safety procedures in regard to working with our equine partners. Throughout your session with the horses, your therapist and Mark will be there to support you in processing your thoughts and feelings as they arise, as well as allow for the opportunity to process and reflect on your experience following the session.
How can Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy help?
While equine facilitated psychotherapy can assist you with various therapeutic goals, many clients of equine facilitated psychotherapy have reported an alleviation of anxiety/depression symptoms, an increase in managing emotions, and strengthening connections. Clients almost always experience a “settling” feeling after time with horses. Reporting a calm and peacefulness they have not felt before. Other areas that may improve over the course of your equine therapeutic experience include, improving communication skills, deepening connection in relationships, living with healthy boundaries, processing past trauma, decrease in negative thinking/thought patterns, and increased awareness.
Individual Session
$295 for a 1.5-hour session with Mark & licensed therapist
3 Hour Intensive
$550 for 3 hours of intensive therapy with Mark & licensed therapist
This 3-hour intensive is recommended for couples &/or individuals wanting to take a deep dive into healing with fast results, insights, and “aha’s”. Since horses communicate non-verbally, they act as mirrors to help us see the effects of our communication on other beings (1200+lbs to be exact). Seeing and experiencing this effect can often help couples learn to communicate verbally, and non-verbally in ways that strengthen their connection and attunement with one another.
My experience with Equinection was great! Mark and Tricia guided me through practices that were truly healing. Grace, the therapy horse, was gentle. I am amazed at how a horse’s intuition can provide so much insight to us. I highly recommend this experience!
-VP
Really exciting opportunity! Thanks for your support to ensure a positive, nurturing experience with the horses. What incredible interactions took place!
The Journey ride allowed me to realize what I was there to work on was not about me and my husband but fear. Fear that had kept me from having what I wanted. It was like a lightning bolt, a bullet through the brain. Now I can move forward from a new place of understanding and awareness.
Thank You, Tricia and Mark
-Vivy
Mark and Tricia helped bring awareness to my social anxieties and over-thinking head-on through the journey ride. The location was relaxing, the horses were peaceful and I left feeling lighter. I continue to apply the tools I learned during my session.
-T.S.
Really exciting opportunity! Thanks for your support to ensure a positive, nurturing experience with the horses. What incredible interactions took place!
Carla has an internal and external ability to relate to horses and people in a unique way. Her keen insight and unique ability to connect to others and their equine partners has helped them acknowledge their emotions in a sense of deepening and understanding the barriers within their systems. Carla’s understanding of people and systems has helped move people in the sense of understanding their internal feelings and grow intensely towards a rewarding sense of healing and self. Carla is clear and balanced when working with individuals and is sensitive to what a person and the environment bring to the situation. Carla’s ability to connect individuals with horses has guided them on a journey of healing and understanding of their own individual self.
-Michelle B.
The experience was amazing. It was so great to be on “horse time” and absorb the information and lessons learned.
