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Equine facilitated psychotherapy is an actual therapy session done by a mental health professional using the horse as a partner in the process. Become familiar with equine facilitated psychotherapy from a para riding instructor in this video on para riding therapy.
This is Priscilla Faulkner with "Horse Time." Equine facilitated psychotherapy is different from therapeutic horsemanship in that therapeutic horsemanship is a recreational activity. It's taking a riding lesson and adapting it so that it can be done safely by someone with physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive limitations. Equine facilitated psychotherapy is an actual therapy session done by a mental health professional using the horse as a partner in the process. Say "Trot, Pete, Trot." So, one of them is a recreational activity. The other is a therapeutic activity, and the standards of the person facilitating the session are different. The equine facilitated mental health session needs to be facilitated by a mental health professional who is properly licensed and credentialed. The therapeutic riding lesson is conducted by a therapeutic riding instructor who has NARHA certification but isn't necessarily a therapist. Again, this is Priscilla Faulkner with "Horse Time."
