Correction Of Parent-Child Relationship Through Equine Assisted Learning «Control And Trust»

Abstract

This paper presents the content of the equine assisted growth / learning (EAG/L) program "Control and trust" designed for the exploration and correction of parent-child relationships. The goal of this program is to give parents the opportunity to explore the balance of trust and control in the relationship with their children, based on experience gained of interactions with horses. This program refers to the "Hippovention" technique - personal development, psychotherapy and correction of relations in horse-assisted interactions, accompanied by a psychologist. Mutual communication with a horse in specially organized conditions offers great opportunities for the development of partnership and reflection and for self-discovery. The testing of this program was conducted at the Kazan International Equestrian complex for a period of five weeks. Eight families (parents with children), two psychologists (one of whom is an expert on horses) and five horses participated in the program. The program includes conversation techniques, expressive art therapy techniques, exercises in contact with horses (feeding, tactile and kinesthetic contact, riding the horse, etc.) which allow to gain experience of warm and trusting relationships with horses, and their immediate feedback, allows us to identify the unwitting attitudes in relationships with others (fears and clamps, negative patterns). The horse gives a person a unique experience of immediate feedback in a non-verbal contact. As a result of participating in this program, parents get a unique experience of awareness of themselves, their feelings and relationships with the environment based on experience with horses and art therapy techniques.