Connecting for Health: Playing with horses as a therapeutic tool

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Author(s)
Maujean, Annick
Kendall, Elizabeth
Roquet, Lillan
Sharp, Tony
Pringle, Graham
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2013
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This pilot study examined a brief psychological intervention using horses as a therapeutic tool to improve levels of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and facilitate the development of life skills in a group of disengaged youths (n = 16). Participants and their case managers were interviewed after completion of the program to explore their responses to the intervention. Interview transcripts were coded to identify participants' experiences and outcomes. Five themes emerged from these interviews, namely, (a) enjoyment, (b) psychological and social benefits, (c) engagement, (d) transferrable skills, and (e) mechanisms of change. The ...
View more >This pilot study examined a brief psychological intervention using horses as a therapeutic tool to improve levels of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and facilitate the development of life skills in a group of disengaged youths (n = 16). Participants and their case managers were interviewed after completion of the program to explore their responses to the intervention. Interview transcripts were coded to identify participants' experiences and outcomes. Five themes emerged from these interviews, namely, (a) enjoyment, (b) psychological and social benefits, (c) engagement, (d) transferrable skills, and (e) mechanisms of change. The findings of this study indicate that this type of intervention may provide a viable option for youths who are disengaged from school and/or the community and who have not responded to traditional interventions.
View less >
View more >This pilot study examined a brief psychological intervention using horses as a therapeutic tool to improve levels of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and facilitate the development of life skills in a group of disengaged youths (n = 16). Participants and their case managers were interviewed after completion of the program to explore their responses to the intervention. Interview transcripts were coded to identify participants' experiences and outcomes. Five themes emerged from these interviews, namely, (a) enjoyment, (b) psychological and social benefits, (c) engagement, (d) transferrable skills, and (e) mechanisms of change. The findings of this study indicate that this type of intervention may provide a viable option for youths who are disengaged from school and/or the community and who have not responded to traditional interventions.
View less >
Journal Title
Journal of Community Psychology
Volume
41
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Connecting for Health: Playing with horses as a therapeutic tool, Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 41(4), 2013 pp. 515-522, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21547.
Subject
Other psychology not elsewhere classified