We are dedicated to helping improve the intellectual, emotional and behavioral health of children, adults and families within our community and beyond, utilizing equine facilitated psychotherapy.

We are treating people with a variety of disorders ranging from General Anxiety Disorders, Depression and Eating Disorders. We specialize in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and trauma related disorders.  We treat a wide variety of clients ranging from children to adults, families and couples. All of the treatment utilizes Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy which is yeilding powerful results.  We incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

The program takes individuals at the ranch who want to understand the healing power of the relationship between them and with the horses helping to facilitate therapy utilizes traditional psychotherapy techniques, plus techniques from the equine psychotherapy base and blends them together to create a powerful mechanism to treat some of the most difficult cases.  Throughout the work, many veteran’s are now finding this particular modality to be successful.

The sessions at Equine Partners in Healing typically last 1 and 1/2 hours.  They are done on a weekly basis just like traditional therapy.  What’s not like traditional therapy is that with the horse, the session becomes experiential with the opportunities to teach grounding skills, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, improve confidence, improve communication skills, to name just a few, and are magnified and in the moment.  The ‘in the here and now’ experience together with the healing power of the relationship with the horse and the guidance of the therapist makes this a truely unique opportunity.

Rand Gurley LCSW, Psy.D. who has been doing this work for over 10 years.  She is a faculty at Prescott College in Arizona and teaches within the Equine Assisted Mental Health track of the Counseling Psychology program.  She specializes in trauma, both in her private practice in Sandpoint Id., and in the equine work.

Ester Nelson, LCSW

Dana Singer, LCSW Candidate/ Intern

Katie Parnell, LMSW