What Are the Benefits of Equine Therapy for Addiction Recovery?
The legendary Greek warrior Xenophon said, “A horse is a thing of beauty… none will tire of looking at him as long as he displays himself in his splendor.” Yes, a horse is one of the most majestic creatures on Earth. This is why equine therapy is such a logical option for recovery. By connecting to something so grand and beautiful, it is hard not to grow in one way or another, and growth is the essence of long-term recovery.
Healing at the Cellular Level
What exactly is healing at the cellular level? It is about holistic healing at its core, healing the entire mind, body, and soul. This is especially important for those struggling with issues of addiction and/or mental health.
Addiction and co-occurring disorders remain a seriously prevalent problem in the U.S. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “7.7 million adults have co-occurring mental and substance use disorders… Of the 20.3 million adults with substance use disorders, 37.9% also had mental illnesses,” and “Among the 42.1 million adults with mental illness, 18.2% also had substance use disorders.”
These statistics also represent a greater need for more effective addiction treatments. The kind of treatments that get to the root/core causes of one’s addiction/mental health issues.
Extreme Importance of Getting to the Root/Core Causes of Addiction
Addiction goes much deeper than negative behaviors. According to NIDA, “Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences. It is considered a brain disorder because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control. Those changes may last a long time after a person has stopped taking drugs.”
Because the issues of addiction go well beyond the actual taking of the drink or the drug, the treatment must also go much deeper. As is often said in recovery meetings, “Alcohol and drugs are but symptoms of what is really going on.” Those “goings on” are where the root/core causes of addiction can be found.
Getting to the underlying issues of addiction is essential for healing at the cellular level. However, getting at these root/core causes can be complex, which is why recovery must be individualized and comprehensive.
Extreme Importance of Individualized Care for Addiction Recovery
The iconic philosopher and father of Western medicine, Hippocrates said, “It’s far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has.” This gets to the core of what individualized addiction care is all about.
It is about taking essential assessments of what an individual needs to recover. This assessment must include an individual’s background, home life, history of alcohol and/or substance use, comorbidities, and occupational specifics. Once these details are better known, then the best types of recovery means, methods, and modalities can be employed. This then leads to comprehensive care via a multi-angled approach.
Extreme Importance of Comprehensive Care for Addiction Recovery
It is only logical that many types of treatment methods be used to help an individual recover. Yet, this is not the case with many recovery centers that focus on broad “overarching” treatment plans.
Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we find that this type of recovery is lacking in what it takes to heal at the cellular level. Comprehensive care means that an individual’s plan has treatment options to address all issues: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. This should include therapies from all areas of the recovery realm, including psychotherapies, experiential therapies, and holistic healing methods. One therapy that can also be highly beneficial is equine therapy.
A Focus on Equine Therapy: What Exactly Is It?
Equine therapy (also known as horse-assisted therapy) is an experiential therapy that focuses on responsibility and connection. It has also been shown to be effective at treating AUD and SUD.
According to the peer-reviewed journal Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, “Horse-assisted therapy (HAT), an innovative psychotherapy that actively involves horses in the therapeutic process, is [a] complementary (free-standing) or adjunct health-related activity. An increasing volume of HAT literature claims benefits to health based on explanations more or less founded in psychological theories such as attachment and psychoanalysis… The outdoor, active, and less verbal therapeutic environment of the stable (as compared to the verbal and enclosed atmosphere of the therapy room) is also regarded as more beneficial for some clients.” So, how exactly then does equine therapy work?
How Does Equine Therapy Work?
Equine therapy is much more than simply riding a horse (though this is certainly part of it). This type of therapy works by establishing a bond between an individual and the horse.
According to the peer-reviewed journal Nursing Open, “Equine‐assisted Activities is an intervention for companionship, socialization, reduction in emotional blunting, improvement in attachment issues, personal space/boundary improvement, self‐esteem enhancement, reflectivity, and meta‐cognition… The terms Equine‐assisted Learning or Equine‐Facilitated Learning are used interchangeably and include education directed at improving communication skills, self‐awareness, confidence building, and self‐control by interacting with a horse. This is accomplished by grooming, riding and saddling along with non‐violent communication, play therapy and mindfulness practice.” The process then leads to many benefits.
What Are the Benefits of Equine Therapy?
As with most experiential therapies, equine therapy offers a myriad of benefits. While, of course, they vary on an individual basis, there are many universal benefits. The following are just a few:
- Helps with communication
- Instills a sense of responsibility
- Increases healthy energy levels
- Helps with self-esteem
- Offers an opportunity to gain and hone life skills
- Reduces anxiety and depression
- Helps regulate mood
- Can build physical strength, stamina, and balance
- May reduce relapse rates
That last benefit can be highly consequential, as relapse rates remain high in the U.S. According to the peer-reviewed thesis, Addiction Relapse Prevention, by Doctors Guenzel and McChargue, “One primary concern in addiction treatment is the high rate of relapses within a short period after even the most intensive treatment. Many studies have shown relapse rates of approximately 50% within the first 12 weeks after completion of intensive inpatient programs that often last 4 to 12 weeks or more and can cost tens of thousands of dollars.”
The Importance of Incorporating Equine Therapy Into a Multi-Angled Approach
As previously mentioned, all therapies tend to benefit from working in tandem with other therapies. Equine therapy is no different.
This means that equine therapy is best utilized within a multi-angled approach. Now, this approach may include other experiential therapies like surf therapy, holistic healing methods like yoga and meditation, and psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
Equine Therapy and CBT
CBT can be highly effective for addiction recovery because it works to get to the root/core causes of addictive behaviors. Getting to these root/core causes helps individuals then change their negative behaviors.
According to the peer-reviewed journal Cognitive Therapy and Research, “Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) refers to a class of interventions that share the basic premise that mental disorders and psychological distress are maintained by cognitive factors. The core premise of this treatment approach, as pioneered by Beck (1970) and Ellis (1962), holds that maladaptive cognitions contribute to the maintenance of emotional distress and behavioral problems. According to Beck’s model, these maladaptive cognitions include general beliefs, or schemas, about the world, the self, and the future, giving rise to specific and automatic thoughts in particular situations.” Ultimately, an individual changes their perspectives to change their actions.
Equine Therapy and Nature Immersion Therapy
A big part of connecting to horses is also connecting to a horse’s natural environment. In doing so, many other benefits can be gained.
According to the National Park Service, “Physical activity in a green space can improve cognitive control, short and long-term memory, and overall brain function…The mental and attention restoration achieved from walking in nature can improve performance on tasks in school and at work. Exercising in nature leads to greater health benefits than performing the same activity indoors.” Nature immersion therapy also offers other benefits.
According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Besides physical health improvements, nature exposure can bring about positive influence upon psychological constructs such as boredom, friendliness, well-being and liveliness [28]. However, across more than one hundred studies on nature/wildlife exposure, stress mitigation has been shown to be one of the most consistent and important psychological benefits. Besides improvements to physical and psychological well-being, exposure to natural environments has been shown to bring about positive impacts on cognitive functioning.” Another effective experiential therapy is surf therapy.
Equine Therapy and Surf Therapy
On the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, equine therapy often takes place on the beach near the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean. Another therapy that takes advantage of this setting is surf therapy.
Surf therapy offers a myriad of benefits. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Carefully planned water activities tailored to the needs of the individual can contribute to correct psychosocial and cognitive development. The International Surf Therapy Organization summarizes the benefits of adequately indicated surf therapy as follows: improved physical health and mobility; improved mental health, including reduction of specific symptoms, such as posttraumatic stress and depression; improved well-being (strengthening of trust and confidence, encouragement of independence, resilience and protective coping strategies) and improved social skills.”
Equine Therapy and Horticulture Therapy
Connecting with nature does not just stop with equine therapy or surfing in the Pacific Ocean. It can also occur via cultivating the Earth and getting one’s hands dirty in the soil. This can happen with horticulture therapy.
Much like equine therapy, horticulture therapy offers many benefits. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “People’s interactions with plants, through goal-orientated horticultural activities in the form of active gardening, as well as the passive appreciation of nature, could be therapeutic to people with mental disorders in many ways. First, horticulture could have emotional benefits, such as reducing stress, reducing psychiatric symptoms, stabilizing mood, and increasing the sense of tranquility, spirituality, and enjoyment. Second, it could help people to reduce fatigue and restore attention and cognitive ability.” It also offers an opportunity for meditation.
Equine Therapy and Meditation
The iconic Swiss clergyman and philosopher Saint Francis de Sales once said, “Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.” While this is rather tongue-in-cheek, it does make a lot of sense.
Meditation is beneficial, whether with a horse or on its own. According to the International Quarterly Journal of Research in Ayurveda (AYU), “Research has confirmed a myriad of health benefits associated with the practice of meditation. These include stress reduction, decreased anxiety, decreased depression, reduction in pain (both physical and psychological), improved memory, and increased efficiency. Physiological benefits include reduced blood pressure, heart rate, lactate, cortisol, and epinephrine; decreased metabolism, breathing pattern, oxygen utilization, and carbon dioxide elimination; and increased melatonin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), skin resistance, and relative blood flow to the brain.”
Meditation is also a crucial component of other therapies. This includes yoga therapy.
Equine Therapy and Yoga
The iconic yogi and philosopher, B.K.S. Iyengar, said, “Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.” This statement is emblematic of what yoga therapy has to offer those looking to recover from addiction.
Like meditation and working with horses, yoga has been around for thousands of years. It originally started as a solely spiritual and/or religious practice but has since moved into many other avenues of life. This includes the arena of recovery.
Yoga can help people heal physically, mentally, and emotionally. According to the International Journal of Yoga (IJOY), “Therapeutic yoga is defined as the application of yoga postures and practice to the treatment of health conditions. Yoga therapy involves instruction in yogic practices and teachings to prevent reduce or alleviate structural, physiological, emotional and spiritual pain, suffering, or limitations. Yogic practices enhance muscular strength and body flexibility, promote and improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, promote recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improve sleep patterns, and enhance overall well-being and quality of life.”
As one can see, there are many different types of therapies that can help scaffold equine therapy. This is what individualized, comprehensive, and muti-angled approaches are all about in recovery.
Healing at the Cellular Level With Exclusive Hawaii Rehab
The iconic American novelist Herman Melville wrote, “There is a touch of divinity even in brutes, and a special halo about a horse, that should forever exempt him from indignities.” Yes, horses represent all that is right and well in the world. Equine therapy allows an individual an opportunity to connect with that “wellness.”
Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we are proud to be one of the few recovery centers that can responsibly offer equine therapy. We also get to do so while utilizing the most amazing backdrops in the world: the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island.
Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we also take our responsibility for our primary purpose of recovery very seriously. This includes always being available to anyone who needs help.
We live by a motto that is often stated in recovery meetings. The motto goes, “I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of [recovery] always to be there. And for that: I am responsible”
Our hand of recovery is always outstretched. Individuals need merely to reach out and grab it. We are always here to help anyone who is ready to change their lives for the better, here to make our clients attain the lives that they not only desire but also deserve. It’s time to grow. We can help.
Equine therapy offers a unique opportunity to heal at the cellular level. It does so by offering a myriad of benefits, such as the development of essential life skills, improved communication, and a focus on essential responsibility in recovery. It can be particularly beneficial for individuals looking to recover from alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use disorder (SUD). If you feel like you or a loved one are struggling with issues of mental illness, addiction, or both, we can help get you on the right road to recovery right away. You don’t have to go through this alone. For more information about the benefits of equine therapy, please reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.