Equine Assisted Psychotherapy with Young People
with Mike Delaney and Ella Bloomfield

This one day workshop is intended for those working with young people, or interested in doing so, and those interested in incorporating horses into their practice with young people. Participants will gain an introductory level understanding of working with young people through equine-assisted activities. The workshop is experiential in nature and will not rely heavily on printed materials; instead, participants will experience for themselves the LEAP approach to working with young people in the following areas:

• establishing trust
• communicating effectively
• managing arousal levels
• setting and maintaining safe and appropriate boundaries
• recognizing, understanding and moderating emotions
• developing an approach to life that foster an attitude of 'gentle leadership'
• working as a team
• creating a safe environment

The day will be divided into two parts, introducing a model of working with young people that incorporates Native American-inspired horsemanship and the Code Breakers program.

The Native American Horsemanship elements of this course teach ways of relating and communicating with respect and equality. Native American people had an extraordinary relationship with the land and with animals. The partnership between man and horse was one based on gentle leadership and deep respect, never force or coercion. Much of today's horse-related activities are still dominance-based, and therefore not at all suited to working with young people who have either been the victims of violence, the perpetrators, or both. This is the simple reason why we reach back in time and take our inspiration from a people who attained partnership with the horse through compassion, understanding, and leadership based on respect. The second half of the day will be an introduction to the Code Breakers Program, a program created by LEAP for working specifically with young people. The program includes a set of cards that summarise the core components of the program, in simple language and graphics. There is a large body of theory behind the creation of the cards, and it would require a longer training to be able to facilitate a group of young people through this program, so in this introductory course we will introduce the cards and give participants the opportunity to experience some of the exercises for themselves.

A longer training in currently in it's planning phases, and this course will be a pre-requisite.

How to book a workshop
If you would like to attend one of our 'Equine Assisted Psychotherapy with Young People' workshops please choose from the dates below, download registration form, fill in your details and return it to LEAP along with a deposit of £50.00 (non-refundable) to book a place. These workshops will only run if there are sufficient numbers of bookings and will be cancelled if the minimum number is not reached. If this happens participants will have their deposits refunded. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy with Young People.

Next workshop:

EAP for Working with Young People

Saturday, September 29th, 2012

Places limited so please book early!