Team Horse Wisdom
Windy Stopnitzky, Founder and Executive Director
A lifelong equestrian, Windy was able to attain a dream in the summer of 2005 when she began importing and breeding Andalusian horses full-tme at her farm, Paradise Mountain Ranch in beautiful Valley Center, California. For the ten years previous to that, she owned and operated multiple Alzheimer's and Hospice facilities. Windy also has extensive non profit experience, having served in various board positions in organizations for over 25 years. She has 3 grown children who it was her great joy and privledge to parent, and who inspire her daily!
Equine Assisted Growth and Learning and Psychotherapy, enables her to merge her passion for horses and for helping people fulfill their potential. Windy is an EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) Level II Certified Equine Specialist with over 6,000 hours of horse experience and education. She is also an autism ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) Behavioral Therapist.
A lifelong equestrian, Windy was able to attain a dream in the summer of 2005 when she began importing and breeding Andalusian horses full-tme at her farm, Paradise Mountain Ranch in beautiful Valley Center, California. For the ten years previous to that, she owned and operated multiple Alzheimer's and Hospice facilities. Windy also has extensive non profit experience, having served in various board positions in organizations for over 25 years. She has 3 grown children who it was her great joy and privledge to parent, and who inspire her daily!
Equine Assisted Growth and Learning and Psychotherapy, enables her to merge her passion for horses and for helping people fulfill their potential. Windy is an EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) Level II Certified Equine Specialist with over 6,000 hours of horse experience and education. She is also an autism ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) Behavioral Therapist.
Dr. Sheldon Kramer, PhD, Clinical and Research Advisor
Sheldon Z. Kramer, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist who has been in private practice for 25 years and is licensed in California and Pennsylvania.
He is a clinical instructor at UCSD School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, and was a consultant to Balboa Naval Hospital for 5 years, training third year psychiatric residents in the integration of individual, couples and family systems family therapy.
Dr. Kramer has expertise in treating military personnel with PTSD, along with their families and specializes in the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders as well as utilizing non-verbal ways of connecting through music and patient’s pets to deal with trauma, especially grief.
He has contributed numerous chapters in Psychiatric and Psychology textbooks and has written two books on mind-body medicine with an emphasis on the integration of spirituality:
1.-Transforming the Inner and Outer Family: Humanistic and Spiritual Approaches to Mind-Body Systems Therapy, Haworth Press, 1995.
This volume was done in collaboration with the late Virginia Satir, family therapy pioneer and focuses on the neurobiology of interpersonal relationships with emphasis on the use of Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation.
2.-Hidden Faces of the Soul: Ten Secrets for Mind- Body Healing from Kabbalah’s Lost Tree of Life, Adams Media Corp.2000
He is a clinical instructor at UCSD School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, and was a consultant to Balboa Naval Hospital for 5 years, training third year psychiatric residents in the integration of individual, couples and family systems family therapy.
Dr. Kramer has expertise in treating military personnel with PTSD, along with their families and specializes in the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders as well as utilizing non-verbal ways of connecting through music and patient’s pets to deal with trauma, especially grief.
He has contributed numerous chapters in Psychiatric and Psychology textbooks and has written two books on mind-body medicine with an emphasis on the integration of spirituality:
1.-Transforming the Inner and Outer Family: Humanistic and Spiritual Approaches to Mind-Body Systems Therapy, Haworth Press, 1995.
This volume was done in collaboration with the late Virginia Satir, family therapy pioneer and focuses on the neurobiology of interpersonal relationships with emphasis on the use of Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation.
2.-Hidden Faces of the Soul: Ten Secrets for Mind- Body Healing from Kabbalah’s Lost Tree of Life, Adams Media Corp.2000
Kristin A. Gresko, MA, MFT, EAC
Kristin is a Marriage and Family Therapist, having received her Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a certified EAGALA Equine Assisted Counselor and a Lifespan Intergration Therapist & Consultant, SMART Addiction Recovery Facilitator, Certified Expressive Arts Therapist and has trained with Dr. Daniel Siegel in Interpersonal Neurobiology & Mindfulness. Kristin also has extensive training and experience with trauma, attachment issues, and eating disorders.
Horses have inspired Kristin from an early age, which was expressed through riding, creative art and painting. After a riding accident, she was introduced to deeper emotional connection and level of intuitive communication between horses and people, which opened her eyes to Equine Assisted Therapy. Formerly, Kristin has worded as a creative artist and she draws upon techniques from her personal experiences integrating art, neuropsychology, experiential and somatic therapies. She believes in a holistic approach to therapy integrating mind, body and spirit.
"Unresolved issues are mirrored through our relationships. As your life evolves, the need for healing in your own life, and in the world around you, can guide you towards a path of hope, healing, and wholeness."
Kristin also has a private practice in Solona Beach, California. She can be reached at:
kg@holisticmindbody.com
The Horses
We use a variety of horses in our program as an integral part of our team. At the Paradise Mountain Ranch location, we have P.R.E/Spanish (Andausian) horses, known for their intelligence and kind dispostions. We also have our gentle giant, a Belgiun Draft horse named Babalu, who everyone seems immediately drawn to, in spite of his size!
See horses photo album below:
Kristin is a Marriage and Family Therapist, having received her Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a certified EAGALA Equine Assisted Counselor and a Lifespan Intergration Therapist & Consultant, SMART Addiction Recovery Facilitator, Certified Expressive Arts Therapist and has trained with Dr. Daniel Siegel in Interpersonal Neurobiology & Mindfulness. Kristin also has extensive training and experience with trauma, attachment issues, and eating disorders.
Horses have inspired Kristin from an early age, which was expressed through riding, creative art and painting. After a riding accident, she was introduced to deeper emotional connection and level of intuitive communication between horses and people, which opened her eyes to Equine Assisted Therapy. Formerly, Kristin has worded as a creative artist and she draws upon techniques from her personal experiences integrating art, neuropsychology, experiential and somatic therapies. She believes in a holistic approach to therapy integrating mind, body and spirit.
"Unresolved issues are mirrored through our relationships. As your life evolves, the need for healing in your own life, and in the world around you, can guide you towards a path of hope, healing, and wholeness."
Kristin also has a private practice in Solona Beach, California. She can be reached at:
kg@holisticmindbody.com
The Horses
We use a variety of horses in our program as an integral part of our team. At the Paradise Mountain Ranch location, we have P.R.E/Spanish (Andausian) horses, known for their intelligence and kind dispostions. We also have our gentle giant, a Belgiun Draft horse named Babalu, who everyone seems immediately drawn to, in spite of his size!
See horses photo album below:
Photo Gallery
