Run by Dr Emily Walters, Counselling Psychologist and Hope Meadows' CEO, this experiential CPD session offers trainee and qualified therapists a thoughtful introduction to our way of working at Hope Meadows, where equine assisted psychotherapy is understood as a deeply relational, embodied process that unfolds between client, therapist, and horse.

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Rather than focusing on techniques or interventions, this session gently invites you to step into the field and explore how therapeutic change can emerge through presence, attunement, and authentic connection with the horses. You'll be introduced to the principles that shape our approach, including working relationally with the herd, attending to embodied experience, and holding psychological safety within an outdoor, living environment. We support all our practice with theory and research, giving you a solid foundation from which to explore this way of working.

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The session includes practical time with the horses, reflective conversation, and space to consider how this way of working might sit alongside, complement, or gently challenge your existing practice. The group size is small to allow us to discuss your unique experience and training, so that you can understand the route you might like to take.

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There's no expectation of getting anything right with the horses and no prior horse experience is necessary. This is simply an invitation to notice what becomes possible when we allow the herd into the therapeutic space.

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, you will have had the opportunity to:

• Begin to understand Hope Meadows' approach to equine assisted psychotherapy as a relational process, rather than a set of techniques

• Explore the role of the herd as active participants within the therapeutic relationship

• Gain a felt sense of the client–therapist–horse triad and how this shapes therapeutic dynamics

• Reflect on presence, attunement, and regulation within an outdoor, experiential setting

• Consider key aspects of psychological and physical safety when working with horses

• Experience and gently reflect on your own embodied responses in relation to the herd

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