Tags
Addiction, Drug detoxification, ghostofawriter, Health, Horse, Substance abuse, Substance dependence, Texas, Therapeutic horseback riding
There are many mainstream treatment programs available for addicts trying to recover from drug addiction, but for those who would rather take a new, alternative route there is something called Equine Assisted Therapy in Texas. Everyone knows that Texas is full of horses but what they probably don’t know is that some horses are used to aid in the recovery process for drug addictions. It is a fairly new approach in addiction recovery, but has been proved effective in the treatment of many disorders, now including addiction treatment.
An equine assisted therapy program is part of the comprehensive treatment some addicts receive as part of their recovery treatment. It is an added tool that is used in combination with other parts of the individual’s treatment plan. Addicts are required, as part of their treatment, to take care of a horse on a daily basis and on a fixed schedule. This teaches the addict about responsibility and helps them grow as a person. The addict will learn about themselves in the process of taking care of the horse and learn introspection which is something that most addicts are unable to do prior to recovery. Horses are known to be mirrors of emotion and by spending time daily with horses, an addict will understand how their actions affect others. This is also something that addicts have to learn as part of the recovery process because prior to recovery the addict was probably not capable of seeing how their behaviors impacted others.
There are quite a few benefits of incorporating horses into the treatment of drug addiction and the recovery process. First of all, the soothing nature of animals and nature is just what the addict needs in order to keep their mind unoccupied and their thoughts positive. Being around and interacting with the gentleness of the horses provides a calm environment for the addict and allows them to focus on something positive instead of the negative things that probably led them to drug use in the first place. Another reason addicts benefit from equine assisted therapy is because animals have no preconceived notions or opinions about the person and will not judge them. Drug use is a oftentimes a stigma in society and people make judgments about addicts without getting to know the person. This leads an addict to develop a facade which hinders the recovery process since addicts aren’t accepting themselves as who they really are but instead hiding behind a false image. With horses, addicts are able to be themselves and experience a wide range of emotions with no judgments against them. This is beneficial for the addict because they don’t have to put up their defensive walls and are allowed to accept themselves at face value.
Counselors play a vital role in the use of equine assisted therapy by meeting and discussing the addicts experiences with the animals on a weekly basis. It is the job of the counselor to help the addict make the correlation between themselves and the experiences with the horses and put it all in perspective.
In order for equine assisted therapy to work in the recovery process it has to be used in a comprehensive treatment program where patients receive other aspects of treatment as well. It is just one part of the whole process of recovery. Many states have incorporated this approach into their treatment plans for drug addiction. Equine assisted therapy in Texas has become very popular in recent treatment protocols.