F3SC1 - Working with horses in schema therapy: Equine-assisted schema therapy to empower healthy modes
Tracks
Track 6
Innovation
| Friday, May 31, 2024 |
| 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM |
Overview
Skills Class
Details
If the presenter suggests breaking into groups then you should access the Breakout Foyer HERE
Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is a form of therapy that incorporates horses to treat human psychological problems in and around an equestrian facility. It is not the same as therapeutic riding or hippotherapy, thus participants do not go on horseback. Instead, the horse(s) are usually unsaddled and free to move closer or farther away from the client, and vice versa. EAP can be an effective supplement to mental health treatment, including schema therapy. The incorporation of animals in mental health treatment has a long history, and animal-assisted psychotherapy can be an evidence-based complementary treatment to traditional psychotherapy. Animals can aid in healing emotional and behavioural conditions. They can provide a source of comfort, consistency and mutual nurturance, giving support to both the mind and the body. Horses can help people with their well-being and nurturing interactions with horses allow humans to practice, among others, emotional regulation, problem-solving skills, social skills and empathy. Horses also sense our emotions and mirror them back, offering people a way to talk about their own emotions without feeling as overwhelmed or judged. EAP can be used for a variety of mental health conditions including depression, PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, substance abuse, social anxiety disorder, ADHD, or autism. Working with horse(s) can be a helpful supplement in schema therapy, e.g. for emotional activation, diagnostic clarification, mode awareness, developing future prospects, and especially empowering healthy modes. This workshop will introduce into the concept of equine-assisted schema therapy and present techniques (including video demonstrations) to work with horses in a schema therapeutic treatment setting.
Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is a form of therapy that incorporates horses to treat human psychological problems in and around an equestrian facility. It is not the same as therapeutic riding or hippotherapy, thus participants do not go on horseback. Instead, the horse(s) are usually unsaddled and free to move closer or farther away from the client, and vice versa. EAP can be an effective supplement to mental health treatment, including schema therapy. The incorporation of animals in mental health treatment has a long history, and animal-assisted psychotherapy can be an evidence-based complementary treatment to traditional psychotherapy. Animals can aid in healing emotional and behavioural conditions. They can provide a source of comfort, consistency and mutual nurturance, giving support to both the mind and the body. Horses can help people with their well-being and nurturing interactions with horses allow humans to practice, among others, emotional regulation, problem-solving skills, social skills and empathy. Horses also sense our emotions and mirror them back, offering people a way to talk about their own emotions without feeling as overwhelmed or judged. EAP can be used for a variety of mental health conditions including depression, PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, substance abuse, social anxiety disorder, ADHD, or autism. Working with horse(s) can be a helpful supplement in schema therapy, e.g. for emotional activation, diagnostic clarification, mode awareness, developing future prospects, and especially empowering healthy modes. This workshop will introduce into the concept of equine-assisted schema therapy and present techniques (including video demonstrations) to work with horses in a schema therapeutic treatment setting.
Speaker
Alexandra Schosser
Faculty Of Medicine, Sigmund Freud University
Working with horses in schema therapy: Equine-assisted schema therapy to empower healthy modes
Biography
I have been member of the ISST Executive Board for several years since 2015/2016, and, after being elected as Vice President of the current EB, I followed Jeff Conway as President of the EB after his resignation in January 2024.
I am medical specialist in psychiatry, as well as psychotherapist and trainer/supervisor in CBT and Schema Therapy. Besides being head of the Institute for Schema Therapy in Vienna, I am holding a professorship at the Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna since 2021. After being medical director of an ambulant psychiatric rehabilitation clinics in Vienna for many years, since 2022 I am also responsible for the organization unit including the professorships in psychiatry, neurology, ophthalmology and otolaryngology at the Faculty for Medicine of the Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna. My major research focus has been psychiatric genetics since 2001, in addition to psychiatric rehabilitation and psychotherapy research since 2013.
