Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy in North Idaho
Therapy in relationship with horses
Equine-assisted psychotherapy is mental-health psychotherapy in which horses are intentionally incorporated into the therapeutic process. At Whispering Winds Therapy, it is one way we can explore experiences that may be difficult to access through conversation alone.
Horses bring another living, responsive nervous system into the environment. They move toward us and away from us. They have preferences, boundaries, moments of curiosity and moments when they need more space. They respond to what is happening around them while also having experiences entirely their own.
That creates opportunities to notice what happens within you in real time—not because the horse is there to diagnose you or reveal some hidden truth, but because the relationship gives us somewhere to notice what is already happening.
Equine-assisted services aren't all the same.
The terms equine therapy, horse therapy, therapeutic riding, equine-assisted learning, and equine-assisted psychotherapy are sometimes used interchangeably, but they can describe very different services.
At Whispering Winds Therapy, equine-assisted psychotherapy is psychotherapy provided by a licensed mental-health professional. The horse is intentionally incorporated into your clinical treatment based on your needs and goals.
This is different from riding instruction, therapeutic or adaptive riding, therapeutic horsemanship, coaching, or equine-assisted learning. Those services can be valuable in their own right, but they are not the same as mental-health psychotherapy.
If you're comparing equine-assisted services, it's reasonable to ask who is providing the mental-health treatment, what professional license they hold, and whether the service being offered is psychotherapy.
The horse isn't a prop—or a puzzle to solve.
I don't assume every movement a horse makes is somehow a message about you.
If a horse walks away, it doesn't automatically mean you have abandonment issues.
The horse isn't a therapeutic tool or a blank screen onto which we project meaning. Horses have their own histories, preferences, relationships, boundaries, physical experiences, and responses to the environment. Their ability to move toward or away from an interaction matters.
Rather than trying to decode the horse, we can become curious about the experience that is actually unfolding. What happens inside you when a horse approaches? What do you notice when it moves away? How quickly does your attention shift toward what the horse might need? Can you notice what you need at the same time? What happens when either of you creates a boundary?
There isn't a correct response we are trying to produce. The value is in having a real relationship in which something can be noticed as it happens.
Attunement doesn't require losing yourself.
One of the things horses have taught me personally is how easy it can be to become highly responsive to another being while gradually losing awareness of yourself.
I started noticing that patterns in my interactions with horses were also relevant to areas of my life outside of horses. How quickly did I orient toward what the horse needed? How much of my attention was on reading the horse rather than noticing my own experience? When did responsiveness become hypervigilance? When did attunement start to mean that I was no longer paying attention to myself?
I could disconnect from myself while trying very hard to connect with the horse.
Working with horses gives us opportunities to become curious about that distinction in real time.
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Can I notice another being without losing track of myself?
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Can I recognize when I want more space?
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Can I allow myself to move closer when I'm curious?
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Can I notice fear without immediately overriding it?
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Can another being have a boundary without that boundary automatically meaning rejection?
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Can I have a boundary and remain connected?
There doesn't have to be a correct answer. The noticing is part of the work.
Co-regulation is a relationship, not the horse's job.
Horses are often described as calming or regulating. Sometimes being around a horse does feel calming. Sometimes it doesn't. A horse is not responsible for regulating your nervous system, and the goal of therapy isn't to use another living being to make uncomfortable feelings disappear. Co-regulation happens in relationship. Both nervous systems matter.
Equine-assisted psychotherapy can create space to notice what helps you remain present, what increases activation, how you respond to another living being, and what happens when connection feels available, uncertain, interrupted, or restored.The goal isn't constant regulation or calm.
It's greater capacity.
Fear and freedom can exist at the same time.
You do not need to eliminate fear before you can experience connection, curiosity, movement, or choice. Sometimes meaningful change looks less like I'm not afraid anymore and more like fear is here, and it isn't the only thing here. You may notice fear and curiosity. Uncertainty and connection. Activation and choice. Fear and freedom.
Therapy doesn't always need a dramatic breakthrough to be meaningful. Sometimes something shifts because you had enough room to notice your experience without immediately having to get rid of it.
What does a session look like?
There is no single activity that defines equine-assisted psychotherapy.
We may talk while horses are nearby. You may observe them from a distance. You may choose to approach or interact with a horse. We may explore movement, boundaries, proximity, patterns of connection, sensations, impulses, or whatever begins to emerge in the experience.
Direct interaction with a horse is not required.
Sessions are primarily ground-based. In some circumstances, mounted work may be incorporated when it is clinically appropriate and aligned with treatment goals, physical and medical considerations, safety, and the participation of the horse.
The goal isn't to make something happen with a horse. It's to create enough space for something to be noticed, experienced, and perhaps begin to change.
My clinical approach
My work with horses has evolved alongside my work as a therapist.
My approach is informed by trauma, attachment, relational, somatic, and nervous-system perspectives, along with Somatic Experiencing Foundations training and training in EQUUSOMA® Horse-Human Trauma Recovery. I am an EQUUSOMA® Level 2 student who has completed all Level 1 and Level 2 training modules and is working toward the program’s Certificate Track requirements.
I’m interested in the experience happening between thought, body, environment, relationship, and choice. Sometimes words lead. Sometimes the body responds first. Sometimes another living being makes a pattern easier to notice because it is happening in real time rather than being described after the fact.
The horse doesn’t deliver the insight or the regulation. The relationship creates another place to become curious.
Horse welfare and agency are part of the clinical work rather than separate from it. A therapeutic goal does not override what a horse is communicating about its own willingness or capacity to participate.
Equine-assisted psychotherapy with children and adolescents
Children and adolescents can participate in equine-assisted psychotherapy when it is developmentally and clinically appropriate. As with my other work with children and adolescents, parents and caregivers remain part of the therapeutic process. The level and form of involvement will depend on the child's age, needs, treatment goals, and what will best support the work.
Equine-assisted psychotherapy remains mental-health treatment. It is not a riding lesson, horsemanship program, recreational horse activity, or drop-off program.
The Athol property
Sessions take place at my property in Athol, Idaho.
This is a real rural property rather than a polished clinical or equestrian facility. The road is dirt, the terrain is natural, rocky, and uneven, and sessions take place outdoors.
The property does not currently have a client bathroom.
The terrain is not currently wheelchair- or crutch-accessible. Accessibility needs don't automatically rule out equine-assisted psychotherapy, but the property's limitations are important to consider honestly. Please reach out if you have accessibility needs so we can determine whether the setting is workable for you.
Dogs live on the property and are usually inside during sessions. The cats, ducks, and chickens haven’t been told this is a professional establishment, so they may wander through.
Directions and arrival information are provided when your appointment is confirmed.
What should I wear?
Dress for the weather and bring an extra layer when conditions are unpredictable. Closed-toe, sturdy shoes are required. Boots are preferred but not required. Sessions are weather dependent, and plans may occasionally need to change based on conditions.
Fees
Equine-assisted psychotherapy is $225 per 55-minute session and is private pay.
I do not bill insurance for equine-assisted psychotherapy.
Existing clients may move between telehealth, traditional psychotherapy in an outdoor setting, and equine-assisted psychotherapy when clinically appropriate and when scheduling allows.