STEPS WITH HORSES

STEPS With Horses is an equine assisted services organization exclusively focused on providing mental health services. We offer a continuum of services including both clinical (professional counseling services that incorporate equine interaction) and non-clinical services (equine assisted learning and therapeutic horsemanship). Licensed mental health professionals and certified equine professionals facilitate clinical services and provide training and supervision to counseling and equine assisted services interns. Certified equine professionals provide non-clinical services.

All services, both clinical and non-clinical, are coordinated by licensed mental health professionals. This structure ensures that all clients are appropriately evaluated and placed in mental health services to best meet their needs. Clients who elect to participate in STEPS non-clinical therapeutic horsemanship services after completing counseling have the opportunity to maintain progress in a therapeutic environment by strengthening their horsemanship skills. Unlike other counseling programs, these clients can access ongoing post-counseling support and continue to meet with their counselor for check-ins, minimizing the client’s risk of relapse or regression through early detection and ongoing support. Furthermore, STEPS non-clinical staff regularly consult with STEPS clinical staff to address any mental health concerns that may arise during therapeutic horsemanship activities. We call this approach the Spectrum of Therapeutic Equine-Partnered Services (STEPS) Model.

STEPS specializes in serving military veterans and service members as well as their family members. STEPS also focuses on serving at-risk youth and others in the community with mental health needs. STEPS recently launched a new program to provide counseling services to both survivors of human trafficking, as well as to the professionals and peer supports who work with these individuals. STEPS prioritizes serving individuals of marginalized racial and ethnic identities through additional grant-funded services.

We work with clients starting at age four and address a wide variety of mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression and mood disorders, trauma and posttraumatic stress, grief, relationship problems, attention-related problems and ADHD, anger issues, and social skills. We utilize evidence-informed counseling approaches, Relational Equine-Partnered Counseling and Equine-Partnered Play Therapy. Both approaches emphasize the importance of a mutually beneficial relationship between the clients and equines. Equines are regarded as sentient beings free to determine the nature of their participation in the sessions. The relational focus is also emphasized in the non-clinical services such as therapeutic horsemanship in which clients learn to attend to not only their experience but also the equine's experience. STEPS staff utilize the equines' responses to the client to help clients gain increased self-awareness, empathy, and insight to help them meet their personal goals and improve their quality of life.

STEPS is also expanding programming for its learning programs to broaden our reach in the community through leadership, self-care, and team-building programming for groups such as other mental health professionals, nonprofits, schools, and corporate groups. STEPS routinely hosts free educational experiences for local high school and university students to learn more about how to incorporate horses into mental health.