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Stable Minds – Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy

Stable Minds provides Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) to children, young people, and adults, from Surrey and Hampshire.

Through her work as an Educational and Child Psychologist, Laura is aware of the many children and young people who are experiencing mental health difficulties, and who are not able to access appropriate or timely support from a qualified professional. She has also met with many desperate parents who feel they are no longer able to parent their children due to the fear that what they say might make their child’s difficulties worse. Consequently, she is passionate about finding different evidence-based approaches to support these families. This, combined with her life-long connection and love of horses, led her to train as an Equine Facilitated Psychotherapist.

Laura is a LEAP Registered Practitioner; a Fellow member of the Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists (ACCPH); Regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); and a Chartered and Fellow member of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

What is EFP?

EFP is an evidence based, holistic, and highly specialised form of therapy whereby the horse is an integral part of the process in supporting your psychological wellbeing. All sessions are non-ridden and take place on the ground, where you will work collaboratively with the herd/horse and Laura to complete a range of tasks and exercises that are tailored to your needs.

No prior experience or love of horses is required, but we can guarantee you will fall in love with them!

We horses

As prey animals, horses are highly skilled co-facilitators, as they are highly attuned to their environment so that they can sense any danger and respond accordingly to keep them and their herd safe. Consequently, they perceive the world differently to humans and are highly sensitive to the non-verbal and emotional cues of others in their environment. They seem to have the ability to sense at a deeper level what a person’s vulnerabilities are and what they need in each moment making them very suited to psychotherapeutic work. The metaphor of a very large mirror has been used to describe how a horse can facilitate conscious attention to our feelings and behaviours thus developing our awareness of them.

Horses therefore provide clients with a safe and gentle space to explore their feelings without the need to verbalise and understand everything. Clients are supported to build connections with their chosen horse in their EFP sessions, and these relationships are often translated into their relationships with people in their lives.