Spot to Talk offers equine therapy as mental-health resource
The Daily Inter LakeNov 07, 2021
Nov. 7—Adolescent and children's mental health clinic Spot to Talk in
Mental-health specialist and Spot to Talk owner
"Let's say they want to work on decision-making; I might ask the client to start off with seeing where they can see some decisions being made in the field and we let them just kind of explore," Wick said. "It takes the pressure off of feeling like they have to answer questions and be prepared to talk about something, but really lets them use the space, the props, the equines to find the solution to their story."
Wick said the therapy is helpful for people struggling with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, or substance abuse. She said it is also appropriate for almost all ages since clients don't ride the horses, but interact with them in other ways.
Equine specialist
"I took my horses we have now on two of those trips, backpacking in the Bob ... I would also bring my horses in for my animal science course, and the kids were wonderful with it. A lot of them connected with the horses, we would teach them how to do physicals or dentals, the kids just loved it, some of them just thrived," Gerber said. "So we saw how powerful it can be, kids can be shy and all of a sudden they blossom with the horse."
Gerber said even just petting and being around horses can be therapeutic to some people, but the premise of the therapy is to work with the horses and their props in the arena to storyboard issues they are working through.
"They can have different elements, things that are animate or inanimate be the characters in their lives or stories, or themes in their stories, or scary things in their lives and then start working them out through proxy ... it helps them externalize it." Gerber said.
She said horses can be particularly great to work with because they have their own individual personality, making it easy for people to see themselves in the animals. She said they are prey animals and are very sensitive to human emotions.
"People are just mesmerized by their beauty and size, so even if they don't have any horse experience, they are just amazed by this beautiful, big animal, so they make a connection that way," she said.
Spot to Talk held an event for the community with their horses at
"I think one of the challenges, especially here in
Wick said offering mental-health resources can be vital in areas like the Flathead where distance is just one example of a barrier that could keep someone from getting help. Spot to Talk also offers telehealth services for those who cannot join an in person session.
Wick hopes Spot to Talk can offer more events like their "Heys and Neighs" day at
Bigfork Eagle Editor
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