COU 6224 - Equine Assisted Therapy

3 Credits
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT). The use of other animals in the therapeutic process will be discussed, but horses will be the primary focus. This will include an exploration of both historical and contemporary theories. EAT is an alternative type of therapy that utilizes horses as a medium to help facilitate change. In this class, students will look at the theoretical basis of animal assisted therapy, its history, the advantages and limitations of EAT, the PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) and EAGALA (Equine Growth and Learning Association) certification processes, EAT in private practice and non-profits, how EAT helps special populations in therapy, and learning how to co-facilitate basic EAT sessions.