The Effects of an Equine Assisted Learning Supervision Intervention on Counselors’-in-training Performance Anxiety and Counseling Self- Efficacy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Counseling deals with a myriad of complex human emotions, and competency takes years of practice and experience. Counselors-in-training (CITs) who do not expect this complexity experience overwhelming performance anxiety. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an equine assisted learning supervision (EAL-S) intervention on CITs’ performance anxiety and counseling self-efficacy. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State and Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory measured CITs’ pre-post (N = 20; treatment group, n = 10; control group n = 10) performance anxiety and counseling self-efficacy. Results yielded a significant difference between the treatment and control groups’ counseling self-efficacy but not their performance anxiety. Participants were able to relate their interaction with horses to interactions with clients. Counseling self-efficacy of the treatment group increased ten times more than the control group. This study supports that a one-hour EAL-S intervention may improve CITs’ counseling self-efficacy and improve their tolerance for performance anxiety.