Groundwork Therapy is one of the first Australian based models of equine facilitated personal development and therapy. It is a powerful concept that allows an individual’s self-growth and expanded awareness. It is about learning with the help of horses.
GROUNDWORK THERAPY IS ABOUT GIVING THE CLIENT AN EXPERIENCE OF A HORSE-HUMAN CONNECTION, AND THROUGH THIS CONNECTION, AN EXPANDED AWARENESS AND SELF GROWTH.
Horses have the uncanny ability to mirror our emotions back to us. If we are to be in the same space as a horse, we have to be honest with ourselves, learn to trust ourselves, and take responsibility for our own thoughts, feelings, experiences and perceptions. To work with a horse you learn that every action has reaction and consequence, even the smallest ones. You learn how to communicate with respect and empathy in a non-judgmental, non-confrontational way, which then becomes transferable to the human world. You learn to create healthy respectful boundaries for yourself and recognize them in another. You learn to live in the present, look to the future and let go of the past.
Groundwork Therapy facilitates this horse and human connection. This ‘space’ with a horse gives people an accelerated look at who they are and the way they impact the world around them. This powerful insight allows people to create breakthroughs in their lives where they previously felt stopped or in breakdown.
Horses provide us with direct and powerful feedback. We need to trust ourselves before they can trust us, own our emotions, respect boundaries and take responsibility for ourselves.
Groundwork Therapy provides the individual the opportunity to expand their awareness and find pieces of themselves that they are unable to see yet, but already have.