Equine-facilitated group work for women survivors of interpersonal violence

Women survivors of interpersonal violence face challenges to their psychological health and wellbeing, including increased risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder. For women experiencing the enduring effects of posttraumatic stress, recovery is a complicated process. Equine-facilitated psychotherapy is a multifaceted treatment approach beginning to evidence positive outcomes for posttraumatic symptom reduction. In this practice article, an equine-facilitated psychotherapy group for women trauma survivors is described. Session topics, equine-focused interventions, group processes, and general outcomes are detailed. Group work implications and ideas for researching group work with horses are discussed.