Horses work with psychotherapists to help people heal from trauma
‘It adds a deeper richness, I would say, to the trauma therapy,’ says registered psychotherapist about the power of healing in the presence of horses
June 21, 2026
‘It adds a deeper richness, I would say, to the trauma therapy,’ says registered psychotherapist about the power of healing in the presence of horses
Award-winning documentary “Rescued Hearts” screens June 26 in Collingwood in partnership with 5th Street Creative Initiatives COLLINGWOOD, ON, June 2, 2026 — Blue Shores Counselling,
Trauma is pervasive, and thus numerous therapies have been developed to address its distressing symptoms. However, recent estimates suggest up to 50 percent of people with PTSD undergoing psychotherapy still do not respond sufficiently, and up to 25 percent drop out.
From the saddles of her three therapy horses, psychotherapist Julia Lippert hopes to help her clients work past their trauma to improve their mental health.
Group art therapy sessions for youth to explore feelings, express themselves creatively, and learn healthy coping skills
Polyvagal theory allows you to understand how your body’s threat and safety systems operate and why certain reactions, such as anxiety, shutdown, or hyper vigilance, can occur.
Understanding the biology of your nervous system patterns can be incredibly empowering.
Through gentle awareness and regulation techniques, clients learn how to release stored stress and restore a sense of safety and balance in the body.
Somatic work can be especially helpful for trauma, chronic stress, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm, helping you feel more grounded, regulated, and connected to yourself. In turn, you can experience more connected, present, and joyfully engaged in life and in your relationships.
You can move out of survival mode and toward greater calm, resilience, and emotional freedom.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) views the mind as made up of different “parts”: your protective parts, your wounded parts, and your inner wisdom.
Rather than fighting against difficult emotions, IFS helps you understand and heal the parts of you that carry pain, fear, or shame. Through this process, many people
Equine-assisted psychotherapy involves working alongside horses in a therapeutic setting to support emotional growth and healing.
Horses are highly sensitive to human emotions and can provide immediate, honest feedback about how we relate and communicate. This experience can help clients develop self-awareness, confidence, emotional regulation, and trust.
At Blue Shores, we offer highly specialized Equine Assisted Psychotherapy that integrates trauma therapies, including EMDR and DBR in the presence of our horse friends. Many people find that working with horses in this way creates powerful breakthroughs that complement traditional talk therapy.
Play and sandtray therapy provides children with ways to express feelings and experiences that may be difficult to put into words.
Through creative play, storytelling, and symbolic expression, children can process emotions, build confidence, and develop healthier coping skills.
These approaches are widely used in child psychology and supported by research in emotional development and trauma treatment. Parents are often included in the process so children feel supported both in and outside of therapy.
Neurofeedback is a brain-based therapy that helps regulate how the brain functions by providing real-time feedback about brainwave activity.
Using specialized technology, you can learn to strengthen healthier brain patterns associated with focus, calmness, and emotional regulation. Research shows neurofeedback can support concerns such as ADHD, anxiety, trauma symptoms, sleep difficulties, and mood regulation.
Over time, this training helps the brain become more balanced and resilient.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a neuroscience-based therapy that works with the trauma responses that live in the deep areas of the brain.
DBR is both innovative and well-researched, with promising results for relief from PTSD symptoms. It focuses on subtle physiological reactions that occur before conscious emotions and thoughts arise.
DBR therapists help their clients’ nervous system process deeply held trauma and attachment wounds through this gentle therapy and can help clients heal from traumatic injuries (including complex trauma and attachment wounding).
Mindfulness-based therapy combines psychological science with mindfulness practices that help you become more present and aware of your inner experience.
Instead of being overwhelmed by thoughts or emotions, you learn how to observe them with curiosity and calm.
Research shows mindfulness can reduce anxiety, stress, depression, and emotional reactivity while increasing resilience and well-being. Through guided exercises and reflection, clients develop the ability to respond to life’s challenges with greater steadiness and clarity.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a highly researched trauma therapy that helps the brain process and resolve distressing memories.
When difficult experiences are not fully processed, they can remain “stuck,” continuing to affect emotions, beliefs, and relationships.
EMDR uses structured techniques and bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess these memories so they lose their emotional intensity. Many clients find that EMDR helps them move beyond trauma, anxiety, and negative self-beliefs toward a greater sense of safety, freedom and enjoyment of life.