Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Infographic

Hello World,
Here is my infographic on Equine Assisted Psychothearpy, hope you learn something you didn't already know!

http://infogr.am/Equine-Assisted-------------Psychotherapy/


References:

Cold Creek Wellness Center (2013). Why Horses [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.coldcreekwellness.com/addiction-treatment/equine-therapy/

Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (2010). Company Logo [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.eagala.org

Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (2010). Information. Retrieved from http://www.eagala.org/info   

Gass, Michael A., Lee Gillis, and Keith C. Russell. (2012).  Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Routledge

Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (2013). Company Logo [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.pathintl.org

Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (2013). Riding Registered Level Certification. Retrieved from http://www.pathintl.org/resources-education/certifications/riding  

Rabon, L. (2012). What is Equine Assisted Therapy. Retrieved from http://wheniride.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/what-is-equine-assisted-therapy/


Reins of H.O.P.E. (2012).  Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP). Retrieved from http://www.reinsofhope-ojai.org/eap.html

Rehabinfo.net (2013). Equine-Assisted Thearpy. Retrieved from

http://www.rehabinfo.net/experiential-therapy/equine-assisted/

Schultz, P., Remick-Barlow, G., & Robbins, L. (2007). Equine-assisted psychotherapy: A mental health promotion/intervention modality for children who have experienced intra-family violence. Health & Social Care in the Community 15(3), 265-271.

Take Flight Farms (2013) Main Site Photo [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.takeflightfarms.org

11/14: Where am I headed? (said the little birdie known as Adventure Therapy)

Question: Project where AT might be in 10 years

Answer:

Considering this is going to be my line of work after college, I hope that AT will make progress in a positive direction at a reasonable pace.  I feel like because of the "go green" and other environmental pushes that we are experiencing today could potentially lead to a more outdoor friendly approach to therapy, and I have the inclination that having 10 years under its belt will really help Adventure Therapy develop into a even more credible type of therapy.

I feel like main challenge that I see Adventure Therapy facing is research.  Being able to compare a experimental group to a control group is something that I feel could benefit and show the true potential of Adventure Therapy programs.  If people where able to see more research done in Adventure Therapy, and if the funding was available, people could better understand the true potential of AT.  I feel like without this research in 10 years AT might still only be serving to a limited audience, those upperclass that can afford to partake in Adventure Therapy programs.  The average cost of a Adventure therapy program is simply not affordable and thus unacceptable to a lot of populations which could benefit.

Fortunately, I feel like there are companies such as the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council that are going to help establish a foundation for further research.  Founded in 1997, representatives from fourteen different locations are now members of a organization that stands to set a higher standard for excellence in wilderness treatments for adolescents.  OBHIC aims to work to advance the field through best practice, effective treatment and evidence-based research.  They have a set of standards for what they determine to be a highly effective form of treatment.  This kind of organization has already helped to fill the research gap which I mentioned earlier.  For one of their accredited organizations, Summit Achievement, a case study can be pulled up that support Adventure Therapy as a more effective form of treatment than other traditional treatments.  This case study which drew information from eight different OBH programs.  The results of this study by Keith Russell in 2001 showed significantly significant reduction in presenting symptoms for admission to discharge.

With all of this in mind, I feel like the future of Adventure Therapy is unknown but vastly depends on evidence based research conducted in the field.  This research could really help promote the field in amazing new ways, helping support its growth for more varied populations.
Questions that I have about creating and promoting a future for Adventure Therapy is:
Where will funding for research come from?
How do we inform these funders about the importance and benefits of funding for the field of Adventure Therapy?

References:
Gass, Michael A., Lee Gillis, and Keith C. Russell. (2012).  Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Routledge

Summit Achievement (2013). Youth Outcome Study. Retrieved from http://www.summitachievement.com/wp/menu/youth-outcome-study

Conway, J. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from http://obhic.com/about.html

10/chapter 12 let's get ethical, ethical

Question: Where are the ethical principles of APA most relevant to AT? 

Answer:

Ethics is defined as moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior.  When outlining and designing ethics for any organization by even looking at the definition it is clear to see how establishing solid and reliable ethics plays an important part in how an organization functions.  A couple of defining principles from the American Psychological Association that are relevant to Adventure Therapy can be seen in several different areas. Gass, Gillis and Russell (2012) mention that it is important to understand your clients values, your values, and various factors that go into their identity.  If a professional isn’t careful, often times over-generalizing can lead to stereotyping.  This reason amongst others is why it is helpful to reference the ten areas for adventure therapists to assess before making ethical decisions in relation to clients.  Part of the ten identified include identifying the biological differences that different genders may experience, the stereotyping and discrimination that is experienced amongst those with disabilities and the socioeconomic status and perceive power or powerlessness experienced amongst these different ethnicities.  Across all of these domains the important commonality is to not discriminate against any of these populations.  This falls under the realm of the American Psychological Association ethical policies seen in Standard 3: Human Relations.  In standard 3.01, it specifically states that psychologists do not engage in unfair discrimination based on gender ethnicity or disability amongst other populations also categorized in Adventure Therapy practices.

Another overarching ethical principle that is highlighted in Adventure Therapy is the concept of nonmaleficence, which means, “above all do no harm”.  Basically, this idea covers the importance of risk and benefits that are experienced in adventure programming. Although it is impossible to avoid all harm in adventure programming I feel like this concept can be better understood under the umbrella of the American Psychological Associations ethics principles.  In section 3.04 Avoiding Harm, APA specially states that reasonable steps must be taken to avoid harm to people who they work with and work to  minimalize harm when it is foreseeable and unavoidable.  I feel like this section of human relations is especially relatable because without some form of risk, perceived or actual, AT programs wouldn’t function as they did.


Although many relevant ethical principles can be drawn between the two, I specifically focused on the human relationships piece because I feel like it is such a valuable portion for both the APA and AT and plays a big part in the moral of professionals in either field.  The question I am left with at this point is what are other overarching concepts that you feel are relevant to both AT and APA and why? Thanks for reading!


References:
Gass, Michael A., Lee Gillis, and Keith C. Russell. (2012).  Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Routledge

American Pscyholocial Association (2010). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx?item=6

Oxford University Press (2013). Ethics. Retrieved from http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/ethics

9/Chapter 10 competence

Question: How do competencies for becoming an adventure therapist compare and contrast with a different method of experiential treatment?

Answer:

Adventure Therapists have well-developed competencies in order to provide quality care to clients.  Ten competencies specifically that related to adventure therapists were effective listening, feedback, debriefing/reflection skills, group development stages, transfer of learning, client assessment, dealing with difficult clients, experiential learning, processing skills, integration strategies and solution-oriented processing (Gass, Gillis, Russell, 2012).

A practice with similar competencies is seen across eco-therapy.  eco-therapy can lead to moments where our vision of our surroundings becomes more intense, when things are more beautiful and meaningful than normal and we feel a sense of connectivity towards our surroundings.  These harmonious and meaningful experiences are also referred to as peak experiences in eco-therapy and Adventure Therapy.  While there are no set credentials to become a registered Eco-therapist (yet), you must have a traditional therapy degree for entry into eco-therapy practices.  This is one of the major differences in competency  the training. 

Although both are relatively new fields, they are similar is that they are utilized throughout different countries.  AT has seen a lot of different practices such as the Bush Adventure Therapy.  Eco-therapy expands its branches to Australia and beyond with the International  Community of Ecopsychology. 

Another big connection that I noticed between Adventure Therapy and Eco-therapy is experiential learning.  Psychotherapist and eco-therapist Linda Buzzwell talks translates taking someone in a fruit tree garden as acknowledging that they are taking part in something that is larger than themselves.  Another similarity is integration strategies, in eco-therapy’s case this is the use of use of a time diary.  A time diary helps people see how much time they spend outside verses inside.  You basically log time spent looking a cellphone, television or other forms of electronics verses the time you spent outside or interacting with nature. This way people can use their log as a way to make slight shift their lifestyle, implementing more time with nature gradually.  As people spend more time in nature, they are exposed to a more clam and nurturing environment.  To listen to the whole radio interview chick here. 

The main Question that I am left to chew on is:

What differences and similarities will develop as the fields develops as well?

Works Cited:

  Gass, M. A., Gillis, H. L., & Russell, K. C. (2012). Adventure therapy: Theory, research, and practice. (1st ed.). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group.

PRI's Envirmental News Magazine (2009). Ecotherapy. Retrieved from http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=09-P13-00025&segmentID=5 

Taylor, S., (2012). The Power of Therapy: Ecotherapy and Awakening. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201204/the-power-nature-ecotherapy-and-awakening

Scull, J., (2009). What is ecosychology. Retrieved from http://www.ecopsychology.org/people.html

8/Chapter 7: Meant to assess

Question: Compare and contrast the approach to AT assessment presented in Chapter 7 to at least 2 different approaches to assessment in mental health treatment?

Answer: 

A health assessment is conducted by a medical professional and gives an overall picture of how well you feel emotionally and how you are able to think, reason and remember.  One type of mental health assessment is a written or verbal test.  These answers are rated and scored by a mental health practitioner and generally contain 20 to 30 questions that can be answered quickly in a yes or no format and usually don’t take long to complete.  These questionnaires often focus on specific problems, how you are able to think reason or remember or how well you are able to carry out routine activities.  Specifically, a mental health test such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale is used.  The WAIS is similar to Adventure Therapy’s GRABBS model in that it reveals the overall strengths and weaknesses of the test taker.  Another similarity is that verbal comprehension can be assessed during the design and diagnosis stage of the CHANGES model, which is also seen during assessment in Adventure Therapy. Specifically, the C in Changes is Context, and as Adventure Therapists gather information about client groups they can start to get an idea of their comprehension level.  Two differences in the model are that the WAIS provides information on ones full scale IQ and working memory. 

Another type of common mental health assessment could be an interview conducted with a mental health professional. These questions may range anywhere from are you neat and clean to are you standing up straight?  This works best when the interviewee is as detailed as possible and it could be helpful to provide a journal or diary if there is one that relates to the matter.  These specific questions will measure how you think, measure or reason.  One stress for the interview assessment is that it is conducted by a mental health professional (3).  This involvement with mental health professionals in assessment is seen in Adventure Therapy as well.  Although it is computerized, one form of interview assessment is the Global Mental Health Assessment Tool- Primary Care Version or GMHAT/PC.  This tool is used to identify mental health problems.  One similarity between interviews and AT’s assessment is that both start with basic instructions giving details about how to use the program and the clients are will informed on what the process looks like.  This is similar to the readiness part of GRABBS where a group after knowing the goals is assessed to see if they are ready.  A last main difference here is that an individual’s assessment is transcribed in some fashion while with AT it is not.

One question that I am left thinking about is…

What part of AT and these other mental health practices provide the best aspect of assessment for groups or individuals?

Citation: 

Cherry, K., (2013). The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/intelligence/a/wechsler-adult-intelligence-scale.htm

Heatlhwise Staff (2011). Mental Health Assessment. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-assessment?page=2

Sharma, V., Lepping, P., Cummins, A., Copeland, J., Parhee, R., Mattram, P., (June, 2004). The Global Health Assessment Tool- Primary Care Version (GMHAT/PC). Development, reliability and validity. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1414685/ 

Gass, Michael A., Lee Gillis, and Keith C. Russell. (2012).  Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Routledge

7/Chapter 8: Well Metaphorically Speaking..

Question: Examine psychological support for using metaphor in language to facilitate change.

   

My Answer: 

Often, Adventure Therapy practices see metaphors as tool in order to help clients discover change within themselves.   There are many different approaches to how to implement metaphors into Adventure Therapy practices.  One which I want to focus on for the purposes of this bog is structured metaphoric transfer where the therapist works with the client to co-create a framework of interpretation about their adventure experience before it actually begins.  This approach increases the likelihood of client focusing on their interpretation of the experience, providing one that is tailored to their needs.

A key term associated with structured metaphoric transfer in Adventure Therapy takes part in the isomorphic framing of the experience.  Basically clients use an idea, object or description that is identical, thus comparable, to another idea object or description that they are dealing with in their everyday life (Gass, Gillis, Russell 2012).This object then serves as a physical representation of that emotion they are feeling or problem they are facing.

A similar approach to the use of isomorphism used by other mental health care professionals is seen in the field of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.  This video may not represent the most memorable experience of all structured metaphoric transfers, although it explicitly represents what structured metaphoric transfer looks like within Equine Assisted Psychotherapy practices.  If you watch the first minute of the video and then skip to 4:20 on, you can get a better idea of how the client takes away or transfer the activity back into his life at home.  In this video the “boat” is isomorphically framed (or introduced) right from the beginning.  This allows the client to view the boat (constructed of a tarps, jumping blocks, cones and various objects) as the idea that needs to be “sunk” in the clients mind. 

Working with horses often provides people with various passageways to introduce metaphors with how to deal with intimidating and challenging situations in life. In a broader sense a client is able to become more self-aware of how the horse relates to them, their herd and how they relate to the horse.  The opportunities for structured metaphoric transfer are limitless.  Some health care professionals believe anything found in relationships with other people, family dynamics, emotional reactions, behaviors and choices can be played out in equine assisted psychotherapy sessions. 

What other ways have you seen Adventure Therapy, Equine Therapy or other practices use structured metaphoric transfers as vessel for clients to experience change? Is this approach more effective for certain lengths of programs, why or why not?

Citations:

Gass, Michael A., Lee Gillis, and Keith C. Russell. (2012).  Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Routledge

Trinity Equestrian Center (2010).  Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Learning. Retrieved from http://www.trinity-ec.com/trinity_services/eap_eal.phtml

Reins of H.O.P.E. (2012).  Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP). Retrieved from http://www.reinsofhope-ojai.org/eap.html


Romaridge. (2009, January 5) . Life's Obstacles Transitions Equine. Retrieved February, 2013, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGR7NJBFNgk 

6/Chapter 5: Neature is Neat

Pick one of therapeutic benefits of nature and link them to research in one or more of  the following areas:

Abnormal, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive, Developmental, Learning, and Social

Do you see a disconnect?

The benefits of nature in a therapeutic setting are vast.  How do you define them?  I want to start out this discussion with a video clip of a child whose life was literally extended by Adventure Therapy practices.  I had the opportunity to work at this amazing camp this past summer. I encourage you to watch the whole video, to grasp more about the Hole in the Wall foundation, but for the purposes of this blog the primary focus is on Stephen’s story (minutes 5:00-6:30) and his experience within AT.  The question I want to revisit is AT works, but why? 

The beauty, power and mystery of the natural world has a therapeutic effect on individuals.  This environment has been put on the back-burner and people aren't relating to the world in a healthy fashion anymore.  Gillis, Gass and Russell (2012) stated that the theory that people as a society struggle defining themselves in a technological and consumer-driven world.  How do you fit into this fast paced world?  The picture at the top spoke to me and our connection to nature.  Overtime we have advanced in seemingly practical ways, yet in turn we are less connected to our original relationship with nature?

One age group commonly discussed in AT practices is 13-18.  This age frame is also researched in one of Developmental psychology’s most well-known theories, Erikson’s theory of psycho-social stages.  Identify and role confusion aspect of Erikson’s theory of psycho-social stages is when adolescents are newly concerned with how they appear to others.
This is a time where teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity.  They tend to feel confused or insecure about where they fit into society. It is an important process of creating a strong identity and to developing a sense of direction in life.  I believe that during our lifetime there is a strong possibility that people could get future generations stuck into the consumer aspect of our world and try to seek out their identity in that aspect of our society.  What would our future look like?  Does it look like that now?  Is there was a way that we could intercept adolescents during that sensitive stage and make them aware of the therapeutic benefits of nature?  What are ways which you could see nature being slowly subtlety introduced to these age groups? Let me know what you think!

Citation:

Gass, Michael A., Lee Gillis, and Keith C. Russell. (2012).  Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Routledge

McLeod, S. A. (2013) Erik Erikson. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

Davis, D., Clifton, A. (1995). Psychosocial Theroy Erikson. Retrieved from http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/erikson.stages.html

Cherry, K. (2013). Stage Five of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved from  (http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/identity-versus-confusion.htm

The Painted Turtle Camp (2012, March 8). The Painted Turtle Our Founding Story. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC1Wh1Arows  

Knowledge of Today (2013). Human Evolution vs. Nature. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=538684419487074&set=a.312286055460246.76583.307551552600363&type=1&theater