Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy at American Made Miniatures
Training and Certification
Lindsey Wert, LMFT CEIP-MH is a Certified Equine Interaction Professional through the Certification Board of Equine Interaction Professionals. The Certification Board for Equine Interaction Professionals (CBEIP) promotes
independent certification for mental health professionals or educators whoincorporate equine into their therapy or education/coaching practice. To learn more please visit Cbeip.org. Lindsey is a HorseDream Partner. More information can be found at www.eahae.org
Lindsey's training was done under Alyssa Aubrey Alyssa Aubrey, CEIP-ED who the Founder and Executive Director of Medicine Horse Ranch, an educational experiential learning center incorporating horses in leadership development in Tomales, Ca. More information about Alyssa can be found at
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What is Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy?
- EFP provides a genuine interpersonal relationship between horse and participant. Our horses provide immediate, non-judgmental feedback to the client about their relationship with others and how they approach the world around them.
-EFP provides mirror from horses and individuals to being to work on embodiment, grounding and working through trauma through a somatic based approach.
-In EFP you learn the language of the herd (social intelligence) clients begin to develop insight into where they have been mis-communicating with, or misreading others. It also allows people to step into and develop leadership skills.
-EFP is practiced all over the world, and is pivotal in the times of COVID-19 and the need to connect to the Earth and remain in contact and balanced.
-Clinical evidence has proven the healing benefits of EFP for those suffering from depression and anxiety, addiction, trauma, and loss.
-EFT studies show marked improvement in symptoms of ADD/ADHD, eating disorders, addiction and trauma.
-Studies continue to show how EFP promotes self-esteem and self-confidence while improving communication skills, impulse control and problem-solving skills.
Why Choose Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy?
Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy is a form of experiential psychotherapy involving the collaborative effort of a client and a horse with a licensed psychotherapist/credentialed equine professional. EFP differs greatly from traditional psychotherapy due to the impact of the horse's mirroring and the immediate clear and honest feedback. EFP partners a horse and human in activities which promote relational issues of trust, bonding, communication and boundaries. Mutually respectful activities such as leading, grooming, handling and lunging engage the partners in a healing relationship leading the client towards personal insight, empowerment and lasting change. Working together intimately with the horse allows individuals to begin to develop a greater capacity to ground, connect to intuition and heal trauma from a somatic based experience.
EFP is a preferred treatment modality for many people who love animals, have a trauma history and who desire a more integrative approach than most types of psychotherapy. EFP is a natural way for people to find soothing and peace while partnered with a horse. My role as a practitioner is to create a space where you and your equine partner can engage in an environment that is filed with empathy, mirroring and the directness of the horse who is in incapable of lying. This offers immediate feedback that encourages authenticity and authentic connection. This crosses the barriers of the mask that many of us often wear in our everyday lives that can be exhausting and burdensome. If you are desiring a new way to connect and try something outside of mainstream psychotherapy I encourage you to give me a call. It is with the equine partner that client's begin to learn healthy boundary setting, empathy for self, a stronger connection with intuition, self-soothing, building healthy relationships, trust, mutual respect of differences, accountability and self-control.
