Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) can help treat trauma for individuals, couples, and families to work through the pain of traumatic life experiences. EAP can help clients to find more internal resources than they knew they had, strengthen coping skills, practice asking for and receiving help, and begin to regain a sense of control.
Most of the exchange between horse and human is nonverbal, which is especially potent for individuals who have experienced traumatic events that they are not able to (or choose not to) express in words. For many clients, developing a relationship with a horse is the first step in re-developing positive relationships with friends and loved ones.
Responses to traumatic experiences vary depending on the individual and the situation. Two people in the same car accident will experience the potentially traumatic effects of that accident differently. Examples of potentially traumatic events include military combat, witnessing or being the victim of crime or abuse, enduring a natural disaster, and losing a loved one due to death.