EQUINE ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

‘I found it extremely soothing…an effective tool in combatting anxiety’ ‘I wasn’t sure what to expect when I had my first session, but I found it to be extremely soothing and immediately recognised that it was going to be an effective tool in combatting anxiety. Upon reflection I can say that having the sessions has made me much more self-aware and allowed me to develop more confidence in dealing with worries and anxieties. The most valuable thing I have gotten from the sessions has been developing a mind-body harmony that has allowed me to live more in the present, which has put me in a significantly better position to handle anxiety or any difficult situation.“ Father: Dear Nina, I want to thank you and your team at Track Clinic for working with B at a time when he was in real need of help. His anxiety and OCD, manifesting itself in intrusive thoughts, was dominating his life in a very negative way. It was an extremely worrying time for him and for my wife and me. The impact that Track Clinic had over the months when my son attended coaching sessions was remarkable. In the short-term you helped him to recover his mental health and happiness allowing him to make the most of his final year at school. Beyond that, the sessions have had a lasting impact and seem to have provided him with a resilience and a toolkit to help him manage his anxieties. I am just grateful that Track Clinic was recommended to us. I do hope that B will be able to drop in to say thank you to you and your team (and the horses!) sometime soon.

“She developed in confidence and her general demeanour seemed more relaxed and jovial” H suffered from extreme anxiety possibly as a result of early trauma. She took no part in life outside her room. All offers of help via CAMHS were declined. She struggles to make eye contact and build rapport with professionals. Since attending sessions H has appeared to have developed in confidence and her general demeanour seems to be more relaxed and jovial. H has been able to more fully communicate with us at home about how she is feeling, her past and about her likes and dislikes in relation to every day matters like food choices which helps us gain a better understanding of her. Surprisingly H needed no persuasion when CSC agreed the funding for The Track Clinic, and after the first session nerves has attended willingly. H has fed back that she enjoys coming and that she feels it has helped her deal with her anxiety.

‘My son seems happier and more grounded. All of our family relationships grew stronger.” The time my son spent doing horse therapy was a really profound experience and fascinating journey. I also wasn’t expecting to gain as much from it as as I did as a mother. We decided to try equine therapy as my son who has ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder always seemed to mellow out when he was around horses. By just the second session I noticed a change - it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what but a subtle, almost subconscious build up of self-awareness comes from experiencing your impact on other beings. And the horses responded in a less predictable way than humans. Being recognised and greeted by the horses when we went back each week very touching and helped us think more about acceptance and herd dynamics. I was also able to let go of some worries as a mother. Overall my son seems happier, more grounded and conscious and I think all of our family relationships grew stronger as a result of it. A big thanks to the track clinic team and the wonderful souls we shared our experience with!"

“These incredible animals were able to tune into the unmet need of my 4 year old self” If I can explain my trauma as unhealed suffering stemming from being a very young child. My trauma had no narrative as it went on unseen. The adults who were my care givers were tricked, and my suffering could not be addressed. At the same age, 4, I had an accident at a swimming pool when I cracked my head open on the tiled side. All the adults involved acted as care givers; my parents, pool staff and the doctor who stitched the wound. Being groomed and abused from the same age; 4 and lasting for many years, my suffering caused by adults who tricked my family, my suffering went unnoticed. There was no narrative. And my brain acted in the only way it could to survive; it took out of my body into a Dissociative state. My interaction with the herd has done so much towards healing the unhealed suffering. During both my visits I experienced safety and comfort, which I didn't get as a young child. For decades the pain of my abuse has lived inside me as a terrifying pain. In holding and being held by the herd gave me something that has been missing for most of my life. These incredible animals were able to tune into this unmet and unseen need of my 4 year old self. The healing has now begun. My inner child has had their pain and suffering acknowledged by therapists who eat hay and don't read referral forms. Honestly Nina, I don't know how to put all this into words...it goes much deeper than words.

“The horses adopt roles of people in your life and play out scenarios right in front of you” My love of horses and incredible gifts they bring to us humans, as well as my intuition, is what lead me to Nina and the Track Clinic. I signed up for a full immersion weekend and the experience I have had is nothing short of a miracle. You do not have to be an equine aficionado to choose this for yourself because the horses will show you what to do, or rather how to be. And that is all that is asked of you... to be, just be with them and witness the miracle unfold. I felt called to experience equine assisted thearpy as a part of my healing journey, to which I am committed and through which I have become more myself than ever before. My core issues were to work on family dynamics, especially with my parents (I am now 42 years old; in chronological age😊) and embodying the knowing that I am worthy of receiving. Here is what those three incredible creatures at the Track clinic gifted me with: 1 - they gave me experiences I never got to have, such as allowing me to have space, respecting my boundaries without leaving me; 2 - mirroring my internal shifts in bodily and emotional and thought processed, with the change of their posture, movement or energy (they will always let you know when you have 'shifted' something within and they do so everso garcefully), and finally - they adopt full on roles of people in the dynamics you are working on and they play out scenarios right infront of you. I am forever more myself thanks to this experience and I continue to experience, deepen and embody the gifts the horses, Nina and Jess gifted me. I will be going back yearly now to keep reconnecting to this beautiful field and the intuition that comes. Thank you Nina and Jess and thank you to your herd for their service to humanity and its healing. Love, Aleks

“We walked away more tolerant, compassionate towards each other and ourselves.” I felt a deep sense of calm. Being with the horses brought us out of our heads and into our bodies. Witnessing their interactions with us as a herd acted as an effective medium through which to explore dynamics in our relationships. We walked away more tolerant and compassionate towards each other and ourselves. We also see horses with renewed respect and wonder for their gifts. We really appreciated simply being with the horses and feeling their energy. Simply put, Equine assisted coaching is simply being with the horses, experiencing how they make you feel and being guided by Nina to make sense of herd behaviour and what this could be illustrating at a more subconscious or emotional level.