Hawaii Island Recovery Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)

Hawaii Island Recovery located on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, is excited to now offer Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) to our clients. EAP has been shown to be an effective tool in the treatment of addiction and Hawaii Island Recovery is the first treatment program in the state of Hawaii to offer this service. Our EAP program is conducted on the grassy slopes of Hualalai Volcano where clients will engage in weekly sessions with our beautiful horses.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy does not involve riding horses. Clients engage with the horses on the ground and participate in exercises designed by an HIR Therapist and Equine Specialist to support the client’s treatment goals. The activities include individual tasks as well as group work and is followed by a de-briefing with a therapist to explore issues that surfaced during the EAP session.

Horses are large and powerful animals, and evoke a wide range of human emotion. Like humans, horses are sentient mammals- they rely on their senses to keep them safe and interpret cues in their environment. They are social animals and have a keen awareness of their position within the herd. Horses are highly sensitive and read our every gesture and non-verbal cue. It is said that a horse will mirror human emotions. If you bring fear into the arena, the horse will respond to your fear. The EAP exercises are intended to illicit an authentic, emotive response from our clients. The immediacy of the interaction with the horse inhibits a client from over-intellectualizing the task, and instead asks them to engage their emotional intelligence to read and respond to the situation and to successfully complete the exercise. During this process, much is revealed to the client and therapist. Fears and obstacles to recovery may be elucidated as well as strengths and strategies that will support long-term sobriety. Horses serve as an extraordinary medium through which our clients may deepen their self knowledge and affect positive change in their lives.

The benefits of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy to individuals in recovery are well established. While each client’s experience with the horses will be uniquely there own, the EAP will help clients access their emotions and manage difficult feelings, improve verbal and non-verbal communication, heighten self-awareness, while also expanding a client’s capacity for lateral thinking, problem solving and team work.  Hawaii Island Recovery believes our Equine Assisted Psychotherapy program in conjunction with our other treatment modalities, will equip our clients with the skills, insights and behavioral changes necessary to support their successful recovery from addiction.

For more information about Hawaii Island Recovery or the Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Program please call 866-515-5032.

Filed under: Equine Therapy

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