‘FOOTPRINTS’

An Equine Encounter

EQUINE ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

meets

DRAMATHERAPY

9.00am-5.00pm

£125

(includes refreshments and lunch)

Places are limited so please book early!

 

 Engaging in moments of spontaneity and connectedness, imagination and playfulness, integrating drama and theatre processes with individual contact and group work with horses, we will consider the map we have created  and the who and what we have become on the way, allowing the horse to affirm or assist us in the releasing of our choices for the future.

Whatever your interest, be it in the dramatic exploration of the creative process or the very real presence and spirit of the horse, this workshop offers a unique and enriching journey. No previous experience of horses or dramatherapy is required to participate.

Dramatherapy meets Equine Therapy in this experiential workshop where you will meet yourself through an open invitation to connect with the horses, both individually & as a group, clarifying the space between you & the roles you play out, deepening your understanding of how this translates to the relationships in your life.

No Previous experience of horses is necessary for this workshop, there is no riding involved. There is the opportunity for personal insight and therapeutic intervention which will be respectfully contained within the group.

                        Lifts from Stroud station will be offered to participants both to the venue and back to the station at the end of the day.

Your tutors:

Rachel Perry has a background in theatre & production. In 1990 she trained as a Dramatherapist and later as a Clinical Supervisor. Over the years she has developed her own models i.e. Theatre of Our Lives and Acting 4 Real and specialized  in providing Forum Theatre & in house dramatherapy training and sessional work for many client groups including addiction, eating disorders, social anxiety and the corporate sector. In 1995 Rachel founded Scenario Arts in Personal Development & created and was the Course Leader on the Dramatherapy Certificate Course (accredited byWorcesterUniversity that ran for 17 years). She now runs a private practice inBristol &Bath and has answered the call to set up a more accessible and affordable P/T course for prospective students in Dramatherapy and for CPD in the work place. Rachel is also a Learning Equine Assisted Psychotherapist (LEAP) endorsed by BACP and offers individual & group sessions in Equine Therapy in Somerset & Gloucestershire. She is a mother of 3 grown up children, and lives with her  cat Bugsy in Devon.

Jo Saunders is a LEAP Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy Practitioner and a BACP Accredited counsellor. Her background is in art and education, working as a special needs coordinator for 9 years in a mainstream primary school. She re-trained as a psycho-dynamic counsellor. She also provides “Drawing and Talking” sessions with young children and currently works with a wide range of age groups and difficulties, particularly eating disorders, anxiety and low self-esteem. Jo has owned and cared for ponies since 1984 and currently has 6 ponies at The Paddock at the LEAP Centre in Bournes Green, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

  

Also;

‘Footprints 2′

Close Encounters

with

Rachel Perry & Rosie Withey

This 2 day workshop is for those having already participated in ‘Footprints’ or attended any Scenario dramatherapy programmes and or Equine Therapy sessions.

Close Encounters takes you deeper into a relationship with yourself through the horse. Meeting yourself through an open invitation to connect, to clarify the space between you and feel the relationship of being with one another.

You will also be exploring the mirrored reflections of how this translates to the relationships in your life, through the creative process of dramatherapy in group work and how it connects and honors the various roles that make up your authentic self.

 

Rosie Withey

Rosie brings a unique and rare approach to her skills; She is an accomplished BHS Riding Instructor and coach, who ran her own successful riding centre for 13 years and coached the British Pentathletes in Show Jumping for two years.  She is also a Life Coach and an Advanced Instructor of the Eponaquest approach of Equine Facilitated Learning. http://horsesasteachers.co.uk/about-rosie

Rachel Perry

Founder and Director of Scenario Arts in Personal Development, Rachel is an experienced Dramatherapist and Facilitator of groups and individuals for self development and skills learning offering an innovative and creative approach to healing and change. Rachel is also a licensed Learning Equine Associated Psychotherapist (LEAP – BACP endorsed)

The ‘Footprints’ programmes are for personal growth and development purposes and are about learning and awareness. However, the holistic nature of the Dramatherapy and Eponaquest based work and the sensitivity and spirituality of the horses can bring forward deep emotions or unresolved issues for some participants.  Although this is not a therapy group the group will be a respectful and safe space where therapeutic insight may occur as a result of participation.

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”  Winston Churchill

 Dramatherapy and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EFP)  both offer a holistic approach to working with and through the body, providing a mirror to the unconscious. In dramatherapy there is the stepping into or witnessing the playing out of a role whilst it is also acting as a container to explore and hold feelings and emotions. The horse also acts as a mirror to the human psyche; what you project outward is given back to you through its response and behavior. Hence there is a natural and complimentary connection in combining both practices to support the process of  healing and change.

Horses are naturally empathetic.  Through their body language and highly tuned senses, they can communicate and in many cases provide what the client needs in that moment. They are naturally intelligent animals with a herd instinct that can sense stress and hostility and those they can trust or who need emotional support. They command respect yet have a loving nature which we have seen through their loyalty in serving mankind for centuries.

Connecting with horses offers the potential for personal insight and transformation. In building your relationship with the horses you have begun to awaken your senses to that process, opening to exploring how your experiences, belief systems, actions, feelings have an impact on your world.

Leigh Shambo, HEAL. USA Why do horses help healing? ‘You won’t feel judged by the horses, as we so often can do by people. The horses are equals, we quickly trust them. Horses are intriguing, motivating us spontaneously. This therapy doesn’t feel like its hard work, there is less talk and more action.’

Horses are honest, which makes them especially powerful messengers. Most importantly they can help teach us how to feel and show us, our true strengths, helping us to learn to trust once more.

EFP is not  about horsemanship in itself, but an exchange and meeting of energies. When a client makes a personal and authentic connection to their own feelings, this is rewarded to the horse through a sense of calm and connectedness. Some horses that are chosen to do this work, may also have their own story with a traumatic or difficult  past which a client may resonate with and unconsciously be drawn to thus creating  a natural empathy between them. ‘ (LEAP)

There are a growing number of therapists turning to the wisdom of the horse to support their therapeutic practice with clients. This can include working with young and excluded children, adults and teenagers with behavioral issues, or people suffering from addiction or depression. Horses are also being used in corporate team building and authentic leadership programmes. The recognition of the benefits of working with horses is also growing.

However, this is by no means exclusive to therapy clients. Anyone can be moved by or have an enjoyable experience connecting with a horse,often finding themselves affirmed in their authenticity as themselves and with others in the process.

There is clinically documented evidence that horses have the same limbic brainwave patterns as humans and that being in their presence can have the affect of reducing stress and changing these patterns in humans.

 Rachel is a licensed EFP practitioner with LEAP (Learning Equine Assisted Psychotherapy) which is endorsed by BACP and is a registered Dramatherapist and a member of HCPC

 

© 2015