Lifeline Connections is taking its therapy practices to the arena. The Vancouver organization — which provides mental health and addiction services — added animal-assisted therapy to its stable of offerings.
Animal-assisted therapy is growing as mental health providers incorporate animals — including horses, rabbits and dogs — into their practices. Animals offer veterans and others a calming presence to help them heal and learn healthy coping skills.
“The love that comes from these animals nurturing people can dramatically improve one’s overall mood, self-worth and well-being — just from being in a shared space,” said Kara Seibert, Lifeline Connections’ clinical and intern supervisor. “Then you add a counselor to it to kind of help them sort through some of those internal structures, and it can be a very powerful mix.”
Studies suggest animals help decrease anxiety levels, provide comfort, reduce loneliness and act as motivation for clients to continue seeking therapy services.
Program for veterans
Lifeline Connections adopted its horse-assisted therapy program from Windhaven Therapeutic Riding, a nonprofit that ceased operations after the founders announced plans to retire.
Windhaven provided equine-assisted services to veterans for years. Seibert started volunteering with the nonprofit in 2019.
In 2021, when the founders announced plans to retire, they wanted the therapy services to continue. Lifeline Connections took over and renamed the services Windhaven Veterans Program in honor of the nonprofit.
Lifeline Connections leases space and horses from a Clark County ranch and has a mental health professional certified in equine-assisted therapy in the program.
The Windhaven Veterans Program has an 82 percent completion rate and is not only effective for reducing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder but also for addressing other challenges.
People in the program have seen a 40 percent reduction in anxiety and a 50 percent reduction in irritability, according to Lifeline Connections.
The veterans program offers small groups of active-duty military personnel or veterans weekly 90-minute sessions for eight weeks. These services are offered at no out-of-pocket cost.
Veterans are not asked to re-experience trauma but rather explore coping skills. Participants do not ride the animals but interact with them alongside a licensed therapist.
As prey animals, horses have a naturally heightened awareness of their environment and react strongly to threats, much like people who are experiencing the symptoms of PTSD.
Participants can bond with horses and learn by watching how quickly they calm down after a threat has passed.
“Horses are the masters of mindfulness. They’re always present but never judging,” Seibert said.
Lifeline Connections also offers mindfulness groups with horses and a Recovery with Horses group, which helps those in the substance use residential treatment program.
More than horses
Animal-assisted therapy doesn’t stop at the ranch. Lifeline Connections has expanded its services outside the arena.
Mental health professionals at a local middle school incorporate therapy bunnies into their work, and another staff member uses a therapy dog for counseling sessions.
“It’s just absolutely powerful how quickly these horses create connections with human beings. And I think that’s even more relevant for individuals that have trauma backgrounds and PTSD,” Seibert said. “Because one of the major symptoms is isolation — detachment and mistrust of others. So these animals, they just break through those guards so quickly. It is absolutely beautiful.”
