Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy for adolescents experiencing depression and/or anxiety: A therapist’s perspective
Abstract
Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) are thought to overcome some of the limitations of traditional therapies as they do not rely exclusively on language as a medium for change. One such Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) approach involves horses as a therapeutic medium. Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) comprises a collaborative effort between a licensed therapist and a horse professional working with clients to address treatment goals. The purpose of the present Australian-based qualitative study was to examine EAP facilitators' perspectives on the biospychosocial benefits and therapeutic outcomes of EAP for adolescents experiencing depression and/or anxiety. The findings suggest a range of improvements within adolescent clients, including increases in confidence, self-esteem and assertiveness, as well as a decrease in undesirable behaviours. The effectiveness of the therapy was thought to be due to the experiential nature of involving horses in therapy. The lack of understanding in the wider community about EAP was seen as a barrier to recognition and acceptance of EAP as a valid therapeutic intervention.
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Animal-assisted therapies have shown benefits in anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or quality of life in children and adult populations.
“Animal-assisted therapies (AAT) have shown benefits in these variables in children and adult populations.”
From Effects of dog-assisted therapy in adolescents with eating disorders: A study protocol for a pilot controlled trial (2021) · cites this paper as [14]
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Lavín-Pérez, A. M., Martín-Sánchez, C., Martínez-Núñez, B., Lobato-Rincón, L. L., Villafaina, S., González-García, I., Mata-Cantero, A., Graell, M., Merellano-Navarro, E., & Collado-Mateo, D. (2021) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani11102784 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
- Authors
- Wilson, K., Buultjens, M., Monfries, M., & Karimi, L.
- Affiliations
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Buultjens, Melissa
- Venue
- Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-07-27
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 16-33
- ISSN
- 1359-1045 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7021
- OpenAlex
- W2302593082
- Cited by
- 79
- References
- 71
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 1.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Conservation › Art Therapy and Mental Health
- Keywords
- equine-assisted psychotherapy, animal-assisted interventions, adolescents, depression, anxiety, therapist perspectives, self-esteem, assertiveness, experiential therapy
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Animals, Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorder, Horses, Humans, Treatment Outcome, Qualitative Research, Equine-Assisted Therapy
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