Equine therapy can help you throughout your recovery!
If you’ve decided to attend drug rehab and seek help for your addiction you have probably already been thinking about the types of therapy options that are available to you. Every drug rehab center provides different types of therapy for the treatment of drug addiction and the underlying psychological issues associated with drug addiction. Today, many rehab centers provide equine therapy is a means of helping an individual to overcome addiction to drugs. But what is equine therapy and how can it benefit you?
Equine Therapy – What is it?
Equine therapy is a type of therapy used to treat those who suffer from addiction by having them work with horses. The individual in therapy will work with a horse or horses on a daily basis to rebuild the responsibility that is needed to be successful in everyday life. Often times drug addiction results in a lack of responsibility and over time even a grown adult can āforgetā how to be responsible and to handle daily tasks. Equine therapy can help to restore that responsibility and it is also soothing to the addict to work with the animals which helps in healing the mind and the spirit.
Equine Therapy at Drug Rehab Centers
The idea of equine therapy is to provide the addict with an animal that they can work with and build a relationship. The horse does not have any preconceived notions or ideas about the individual which means that the relationship is new and clean, the addict is able to build a solid and trusting relationship with the horse without worrying about the everyday pressures that come with building relationships as a recovering addict.
Equine therapy restores a sense of responsibility for the individual. Each day the addict tends to the horse and performs various tasks related to caring for the horse such as feeding, brushing, bathing, or riding. A schedule is maintained and the individual will be expected to attend regular sessions with the horse and the counselor similar to the scheduled counseling sessions or other therapy sessions throughout drug rehab.
Following daily tasks with the horse, the individual will also attend individual counseling sessions in which the counselor will help the addict to work through various aspects and experiences with the horse and relate them to everyday life. The idea here is to help the addict to learn how working with the horse can be similar to working with people when they leave drug rehab.
Equine Therapy Benefits
There are many benefits to equine therapy for the addict. The addict learns responsibility from the horse which can then be integrated into everyday life. Additionally, the positive engagement with the horse can help an addict to recovery from damage done to their own spirit as a result of drug addiction. Drug rehab centers also provide equine therapy to help addicts to learn how to build new relationships and trust. It can be difficult for an addict to build trust but with a horse many of the pressures are relieved.
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