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Equine Assisted Therapy Houston Texas

horses at equine therapy center

Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) is a brand new type of therapy that is being successfully used in drug addiction treatment to help addicts in their quest to become and remain addiction free. This new therapy uses horses to help teach addicts life skills that will help them deal with temptations to take up their old habits and return to an addictive lifestyle. Finding equine assisted therapy for cities such as Houston in Texas is really quite simple, just enter the terms Equine Assisted Therapy Houston Texas in the search engine online and you will be instantly connected with many results for finding this new type of alcohol treatment in Texas, including Houston, and throughout the United States. Individuals who work with horses during this type of therapy learn how to use non-verbal communication skills to build trust with the horses. As trust grows between the addict and the horse, the horse starts to trust the addict enough to allow the addict to groom them. Over time, the addict further develops their skills and the horse will learn trust the addict enough to come to them when it is standing alone in the center of an arena. Eventually the addict learns how to develop their relationship with the horse so that it will allow the addict to saddle them, lead them into the arena, as well as ride them. By this stage, both the horse and the addict must learn how to trust each other. Through this process the addict learns that it is important to listen to the non-verbal cues that the horse sends them to communicate. Oftentimes the relationship and bond that is created between the addict and the horse is the first positive, non-dysfunctional relationship the addict may have ever had in their life, and it can be a starting place for the addict to learn how to build better, more healthy relationships with others. This practice of using horses to assist in drug addiction therapy is new and growing rapidly because of the great success so many addicts, patients and others are experiencing in their lives with this type of therapy. It has been proven that addicts who participate in equine therapy are better able to build their confidence, improve communication and help them gain a new perspective and personal insight into the underlying causes of their addiction and how it has harmed them and the people that care about them. Horses communicate non-verbally and often use body language and reflect back the emotions and behaviors of the humans around them. By using horses in group psychotherapy sessions, this equine assisted therapy has been shown to help teach and improve the life skills of the addicts who are working with them. Equine assisted therapy can really be a great way to help addicts to learn how to empathize with others and to realize how their actions can often impact others either for the good or the bad.  As the addict builds this important skill, it can have great ramifications for their self-esteem and for helping the addict to begin to repair the damage that addiction has caused to the relationships in their life. This is a valuable therapy in helping addicts in Houston and elsewhere to improve their communication skills as well as their network of support that will help them to resist temptations to relapse.