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Equine Therapy at Stone Mountain School
At Stone Mountain School, we are always finding creative ways to help our students with ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities, and behavioral issues develop social skills and a love for learning. Based on two decades of research and experience, we have found that our students learn most effectively through hands-on experience. Because of its experiential and active outdoor nature, equine-assisted therapy has proven more effective in a shorter period of time than many other therapeutic interventions.
Our equine therapy program, provided in concert with Horse Sense - a national provider of equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning services - provides students with an alternative, nonverbal method of communication that helps them build trust and self-esteem and drastically improves their understanding of social cues.
In many ways, communicating with horses is less complicated than socializing with people. By their nature, horses are ideal companions for young people learning important life skills, such as setting boundaries, learning to say no, treating others with respect, and making a request. Despite their size, horses are non-threatening, straightforward creatures that give immediate feedback. If you're getting too close, a horse will let you know by walking away or refusing to move. Horses respond to body language and emotions, which helps students understand the impact of their behaviors and interpret the emotions of others.
Once a week, small groups of Stone Mountain students work with Horse Sense professionals to accomplish tasks with the horse such as walking across a field, playing games, and communicating commands. The principal focus is on developing five life skills: respect, boundaries, impulse control, and managing and controlling emotions.
The lessons learned during equine therapy sessions are then taken back to school to be practiced and processed in real-life social interactions with other students and staff. We also invite parents to experience equine therapy firsthand with their child as part of our two-day parent seminar.
Horse Sense has an excellent track record for being extremely safe and well-managed and for achieving immediate results. The program's equine specialists and mental health professionals are trained in working with resistant or reluctant students, never engaging in power struggles or forcing the students to participate if they're unwilling.
Through equine therapy, we have found that students are calmer and more focused, have a better understanding of social interactions, and have made dramatic improvements in teamwork and relationship-building.