Recently, Shea Center staff members Janelle Robinson, PT, HPCS, ATRI, and Chief Program Officer; and Alex Johnson, ATRI presented at the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl) conference. Also attending the conference from Shea was Leeanna Hill, MSW, LCSW, ESMHL, CTRI. This yearly conference, the first in-person since 2019, is the largest equine-assisted services conference worldwide.
PATH Intl is the accrediting agency for the equine assisted services industry, and the annual conference is the largest of its kind. Of the 800 plus equine assisted services centers in the U.S., about one-third are PATH Intl accredited as a “Premier Accredited Center. (PAC). The Shea Center has been a PAC since the credentialing process was established. The conference brings together certified therapeutic riding professionals, veterinarians, disability education professionals, administrators, fundraisers, and more to collaborate and inform the key players in this rapidly growing industry.
Janelle and Alex presented, The Stars & Stripes Program: A Model for Veteran Equine Assisted Services (EAS) and shared how the team created a system that combined cavalry-based principles with clinical group therapy to improve the quality of life for veteran participants. The unique aspect of the program is that it is self-sustaining. Teaching horsemanship and overlapping clinical therapy allows for beneficial psychosocial impacts for the veterans, increases staff and volunteer training, creates safe and effective client riders (who then have opportunities to become staff, ambassadors, volunteers, etc.), and betters the health and longevity of the herd.
Orange County has the 4th largest population of veterans in the State, according to a 5-year study (2019) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nearly half of all veterans surveyed tested positive for symptoms of PTSD and/or depression.
Common issues correlated to veterans’ civilian rehabilitation include: relational strains, substance abuse, anxiety/depression, PTSD, lack of emotional awareness/regulation, sleep issues, and issues related to physical health.
Through The Shea Center’s military program during the last 5 years, veterans have shared that their marriages were saved, they reconnected with estranged children, gave up substances they were abusing, grew confident by recognizing that they could learn new things, developed deeper understandings of their own emotions and thoughts, relearned to connect, applied for promotions and new positions at work, and developed a love of horses.
The team will be publishing a manual and hosting onsite/virtual training options for PATH member centers that would like to implement and/or enhance their veterans’ programs at their sites beginning in 2023.
