Mom's With Kids Somatic Program

This program was developed for mother's who are in a group home in a recovery program, and their children, who live in the home as well. It is based on the success of a pilot program we did early last year. The program holistically intergrates riding with mind-body, or somatic (meaning 'of the body') therapy, followed by group activities with the horses designed to facilitate closeness between mother and child, emotional healing, and personal growth.

The mounted part of the program will include breathing and exercises to increase body awareness and to allow the client to more fully recognize body sensations which underlie their emotions. As clients become more conscious of how they breathe, move and speak, they can begin to understand and identify where they experience feelings in their bodies, such as nervousness as butterflies, fear or anger as a racing heartbeat, ctc., which allows them to address issues relating to those feelings.

The horses are friendly, nonjudgmental companions whose gentle natures contribute to improve mental and emotional states. The bond that develops between a horse and rider inspires a sense of teamwork, responsiblity, communication, caring and joy!

Horses naturally help people to drop their barriers and are able to effectively mirror human behavior in a way that is powerful, yet non-threatening emotionally. The activities on the ground with the horses are experiential in nature, meaning leanrning by doing, which has been found to have a more profound and long term effect than other types of learning.

Our goal is to provide a unique and positive approach to support healthy emotional development and healing for mothers and their children!

Currently, this program is being offered to a specific treatment center. This program can be adapted to other groups, or for individuals, please inquire if you would like more information.