DreamCatchers is Your Partner in Healing
DreamCatchers is an emotional support program that pairs support methods and equine wisdom in a therapeutic way to help those experiencing challenges find a sense of peace. While we do not offer traditional therapy, we are able to partner with therapists to ensure that needs are appropriately met. We will be adding Equine Gestalt Coaching® to our options for sessions later in 2024.
Be sure to check out each program we offer to find exactly the right fit for you!
Jodi Freeman is a Certified Peer Support Specialist, with a focus on supporting those facing anxiety, depression, trauma related emotional concerns, and grief. Combining her loves of horses and supporting others, Jodi offers Peer Support services harnessing the incredible emotional strength of horses.
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How do Horses Help?
A June 2018 study cited in the journal “Medical News Today” proves that horses respond to human emotion by integrating the tone of voice they hear with the facial expressions they see.
More importantly, however, is that horses help provide a sense of calm. In a 2012 article in “The Guardian”, therapist Gabriel Gardner notes "It has been clinically documented that just being around horses changes human brainwave patterns. We calm down and become more centered and focused when we are with horses," he says. "Horses are naturally empathetic. The members of the herd feel what is going on for the other members of the herd."
A 2017 Scientific Study conducted by EGCM Graduate, Jacqueline Manzione, and Thomas Manzione, shows the Efficacy of the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method®. 271 people from various regions, backgrounds, and populations were included in this study result. And 98% of study respondents found their EGCM session beneficial enough to participate in another EGCM Session.
Findings demonstrated that there was an increase in the feelings of hopefulness and an improved sense of self-esteem and self-worth among the clients who participated in an EGCM session. (adapted from TouchedByAHorse.com, April 2024)
At DreamCatchers, we believe firmly in the power of horses helping humans heal emotional trauma, and to that end, enrolled in the Certified by Melisa Pearce Equine Gestalt Coaching program in 2021. You can learn more about the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method by clicking this link.
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Who Can Participate?
Anyone age 13 and older who is seeking a different way to learn to manage their emotional healing and grow through the power of one-to-one support.
Does DreamCatchers Offer Riding Lessons?
DreamCatchers is not a traditional riding lessons program, however, we do offer a four-session introduction to riding. Participants learn the basics of safety around horses, how to mount and dismount safely, and how to ride a horse in walk and trot gaits. Additional riding sessions are offered for a separate cost, and as our schedule allows. Details can be found here.
Our Programs
