September 25, 2021
9:00 to 9:30 Registration & Coffee
9:30 to 12:30 Outdoor Program
NASW/CT and Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. (EHI) welcome you back to Hartford’s Keney Park and the horses, barns, and staff of the Equestrian and Therapeutic Center. When we first collaborated on this workshop it was in the Fall of 2019 and attendees were enthused and asked for more. Finally! We are looking forward to offering this program again as it will meet outside, vaccines are recommended, and masks are required. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes suitable for the paddocks!
For the past 37 years, programs created by Ebony Horsewomen have effected positive change in adults, children, families, and veterans using equine-assisted psychotherapy, equine-based programming, and therapeutic riding. The increased need for effective interventions and the difficulty of working with at-risk urban adolescents have resulted in the design of many non-traditional approaches to therapy and EHI has been effective in stemming children’s participation in violence and improving academic achievement through the use of horses and equine-facilitated therapy approaches. Using solution-oriented therapy, rational-emotive theories, and components of the psychological foundations of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, those who perhaps do not respond well to talk therapy have been successful in addressing and altering maladaptive coping strategies and behaviors. Although, historically, equine therapy has been offered primarily in “white spaces”, suburbia, out of reach for urban Black and Brown people, here at EHI you will experience a focused culturally competent EAP provided by President/CEO of EHI, Patricia Kelly, and the Presenters for the workshop, Certified EAP Therapist Melita Arms, Community Activist and trainer, Kelvin Lovejoy, Dr. Regina Washington, Psychologist, and Bettina Viereck, PhD, Dipl-Psych, MFA. The staff at EHI have also built a program tailored for Veterans who are dealing with PTSD, helping them heal through their work and their relationships with the horses. The combination of a horse, a licensed therapist, and a horse specialist can result in the achievement of rehabilitative goals for survivors of trauma, those with special needs, and those struggling with addiction or mental health issues.
Approved for 3 Culturally Competent and Veterans CECs
EHI is located at 337 Vine Street, Hartford, CT 06112
Cost is $60 for NASW Members and $80 for Not Yet Members
