Mental Health Therapy
Our Mental Health Therapy is an experiential therapy led by a licensed mental health professional and a certified equine specialist, tailored to address specific treatment goals. Working with horses offers a distinctive kind of feedback that is exclusive to this approach and gives the client a more holistic treatment experience. We offer sessions for individuals or families.
Individual and Group Sessions
We offer a variety of individual, family, or group Mental Health sessions so you can find one that best fits your needs.
Individual and Family Sessions — learn more
Working in Tandem (Youth Mentorship) — learn more
Life in the Herd (Teen Group) — learn more
Stable Ground (Trauma Recovery Group) — learn more
Session Costs
A one-time Intake Assessment is required for all clients.
The program runs year-round in four quarters—Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall—with each quarter averaging 10–13 weeks.
| Session Type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Intake Assessment | $225 |
| Individual or Family Session | $155 |
Mental Health Therapy Registration
To sign up for Mental Health individual or group sessions, please fill out the form below.
For questions regarding this therapy, please contact our Mental Health Program Coordinator, Jessica Conwell, at (503) 217-2189, or email mentalhealth@forwardstride.org.
Models We Use
We utilize a variety of mental health models to ensure each client receives a care plan tailored to their specific needs.
PATH Model – Personal growth through horsemanship for people of all abilities. The PATH model can be particularly helpful for children, people with cognitive disorders or physical disabilities, or people who thrive with a more structured therapeutic environment.
EAGALA Model – Creative problem solving through metaphorical experiences. The EAGALA model can be particularly helpful for people who prefer less structure or who have difficulty with traditional talk therapy.
Natural Lifemanship Model – The art and science of connected relationships. The Natural Lifemanship model is particularly helpful for those in recovery from trauma, or who are looking to find meaningful, healthy relationships.
Why Work with Horses?
Interaction with horses during a counseling session provides clients a dynamic type of feedback accessed solely through this type of therapy. Horses are particularly sensitive to one’s emotional state and can react differently to varying states of emotions in the humans around them. Horses, due to their prey animal nature, will only build trusting relationships when they feel safe. Clients often work with horses as they are loose in the arena, exploring the effects of their body language on the horses. All Mental Health therapies are done on the ground with the horse present. Riding is not a part of the Mental Health Therapy program.
Communicating with the horse creates a safe space for the client to explore difficult thoughts and feelings and a chance to reflect inwardly without fear of judgement. Horses require a sense of awareness from humans, and exercising this sense of awareness can aid clients in rebuilding neuroplasticity, attentiveness, and thought processes.
Watch our video about Mental Health below or click here.
What if I already have a therapist?
Forward Stride offers Mental Health Therapy as a supplemental therapy. If you already have a therapist but would like to partner with a horse in developing the next chapter of your story, we can help! Changing up a therapeutic routine and adding in body movement may help to open additional therapeutic doors in your treatment.
The Mental Health Team
Our team of highly trained staff utilizes evidence-based practices such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Brief Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Informed Care, Seeking Safety, Gottman method, Family Systems Theory, and play therapy, alongside of animal-assisted therapy in order to maximize treatment benefits. Forward Stride Clinical Services staff are specially trained to work with people with mental health conditions, developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, and have experience working with clients suffering from co-occurring disorders.
Our equine specialists are certified and trained in a variety of equine industry treatment models, including the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, and Natural Lifemanship.