Gestalt Equine Psychotherapy
Australia
Our Difference
Our unique difference as an Equine Assisted Psychotherapy & Learning Program lies in the Standard of Professionalism, Qualifications, Depth of Experience, Quality Facilities and Relationship with our 10 Horses….
So what is Different about our EAP and EAL –
Gestalt Equine Psychotherapy and Learning?
Psychotherapy
Meg Kirby, the founder of Gestalt Equine Psychotherapy Australia, is a qualified and experienced Psychotherapist. Co-facilitators Noel Haarburger and Sue Cox are also qualified, and experienced, Psychotherapists.
Meg qualified and completed a 3 year training in Psychotherapy as a Gestalt Therapist 13 years ago, and has been working as a psychotherapist in both non-government organisations and private practice servicing a wide range of personal growth and clinical based clients since that time.
Base Psychology or Social Work University Degrees do not train students to be Psychotherapists. It is a specialist field of expertise and study. It takes independent study in Psychotherapy – a training course of between 2- 6 years to become certified in ones chosen Psychotherapy field depending on the psychotherapy training, (for example Family Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Somatic Psychotherapy etc).
This is something that Gestalt Equine Psychotherapy Australia offers clients and students of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, that is distinct from other programs and training programs. It is Psychotherapy facilitated by Psychotherapists.
Mental Health
Meg has been qualified and practicing in Mental Health for over 15 years as a Mental Health Social Worker in both Child and Adolescent Mental Health (including Inpatient Adolescent Units and Outpatient Child, Adolescent and Family Teams) and Community Adult Mental Health (with adults experiencing a diagnosis, often dual diagnosis, homelessness, and other ‘complex needs’). Since working in Private Practice as a Psychotherapist and Mental Health Social Worker, Meg has practiced therapeutically with people with diagnoses ranging from Depression, Anxiety, Psychosis, Bipolar Disorder, Attachment Disorder, Personality Disorders and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The experience in public and private Mental Health/ Psychiatry assessment and treatment, including child and adult mental health, distinguishes Gestalt Equine Psychotherapy programs from other programs. We are offering Mental Health programs because we are experienced in mental health.
Facilities
Our GEPA Facilities include an undercover/indoor space for discussions, indoor space for equine therapy sessions and group sessions, Olympic size ménage, Round yard, and various yards and paddocks. Thus we can manage a diversity of human and horse needs, and unpredictable weather conditions well.
Relationship to Horses
Meg has owned horses for over a decade, and currently cares for her Herd of 10 including stallions, mares, ridden horses and breeding Arabians. Meg’s passion has been exploring diverse Horsemanship from Natural Horsemanship, to Classical Dressage, to more recently what may be referred to as “Expansive Horsemanship” with mentors such as Klaus Hempfling and Imke Spilker . These authors and horse people promote a deep authentic relationship with one’s horses akin to what Gestalt Therapy refers to as an I –Thou Relationship. The relationship is based on the human’s capacity for awareness, presence and what Meg has recently coined “I-Thou Leadership”. This depth of understanding of horses, horsemanship, and exploration of the horse-human relationship supports an incredible opportunity for clients in the EAP/EAL sessions. Clients can rest assured they will not be offered interpretations based on out of date horse psychology and horsemanship, or fads. The focus is on the client’s experience, and exploring the client-horse connection, not interpretations about what the horse is ‘saying’. This frees the sessions up to awaken new depths of Contact, Awareness, and Growth.
We believe these key differences keeps our horses and clients physically and emotionally safe, and, our clients, team and horses well supported, ’stretched’ and nourished. This difference supports the ground for truly inspiring horse-human connections, awareness, and therapeutic growth to occur.
