TY - JOUR
T1 - Equine facilitated psychotherapy
T2 - A pilot study of effect on posttraumatic stress symptoms in maltreated youth
AU - Mccullough, Leslie
AU - Risley-Curtiss, Christina
AU - Rorke, John
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - Chronic maltreatment of children can provoke a host of neuropsychological and physiological anomalies that manifest as developmental, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and psychosocial disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Considering the multidimensional landscape of trauma and PTSD alongside the nonverbal and symbolic language of children, a nondidactic, somatic treatment intervention that engages the body’s own inner communication system seems well suited for young victims of maltreatment. The authors describe the results of a pilot study utilizing equine facilitated psychotherapy (EFP), an experiential, cognitive-behavioral based intervention, for the treatment of PTSD symptoms of maltreated youth. A purposive sample of 11 youth ages 10–18 who presented with PTSD symptomatology participated in eight weekly EFP outpatient sessions 1.5 to 2 hours in length. Pre and post, as well as midpoint, tests were administered. Results suggest the EFP treatment effects are multimodal, working in multiple directions at the same time. Results also suggest that the EFP model may be a viable psychotherapy for traumatized youth suffering PTSD symptomatology.
AB - Chronic maltreatment of children can provoke a host of neuropsychological and physiological anomalies that manifest as developmental, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and psychosocial disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Considering the multidimensional landscape of trauma and PTSD alongside the nonverbal and symbolic language of children, a nondidactic, somatic treatment intervention that engages the body’s own inner communication system seems well suited for young victims of maltreatment. The authors describe the results of a pilot study utilizing equine facilitated psychotherapy (EFP), an experiential, cognitive-behavioral based intervention, for the treatment of PTSD symptoms of maltreated youth. A purposive sample of 11 youth ages 10–18 who presented with PTSD symptomatology participated in eight weekly EFP outpatient sessions 1.5 to 2 hours in length. Pre and post, as well as midpoint, tests were administered. Results suggest the EFP treatment effects are multimodal, working in multiple directions at the same time. Results also suggest that the EFP model may be a viable psychotherapy for traumatized youth suffering PTSD symptomatology.
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U2 - 10.1080/15289168.2015.1021658
DO - 10.1080/15289168.2015.1021658
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84944451916
SN - 1528-9168
VL - 14
SP - 158
EP - 173
JO - Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy
JF - Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy
IS - 2
ER -