Equine Therapy for Troubled Teens : How a Horse Enthusiast is Helping Strugging Teens
Written by Cristo Rogers, Posted on , in Section Mental Wellness
What is the most effective way of reaching troubled teens? One Spirit Lake tribe member says horses.
Darla Theile is in charge of the equine therapy program at the Spirit Lake Recovery and Wellness Center, and according to her, equine therapy is the key to saving troubled teens who suffer from substance abuse and addiction.
How does equine therapy help troubled teens?
Thiele's approach begins with assigning a horse to a troubled teen. The teen is then held responsible for the caring of their equine friend throughout the duration of the program. Theile says that when the teens learn to care for something other than themselves, they also learn to overcome their selfish, self-sabotaging mindset.
"When we use our horses, we use the language, we work with the language, we work with the culture, we work with the history." Says Theile.
Through the course of a teen's enrollment, they learn personal responsibility and to feel empathy for others as they take care of all the horse's needs, such as grooming and feeding. According to Darla, teens will also build self-worth and confidence as they care for the animals - Self-worth and confidence, of course, being two key attributes that are needed to overcome substance abuse and addiction issues.
Helping substance abusing teens who would otherwise be incarcerated
Theile argues that giving teens the opportunity to learn and grow from equine therapy is a more effective alternative than court-mandated punishments like community service or juvenile detention. While some of the teens participating in the program will be enrolled from various agencies like the Spirit Lake Recovery and Wellness Center, others are referred to by the court systems where juvenile defendants can enroll instead of participating in community service efforts.
Theile claims, "When we use our horses, we use the language, we work with the language, we work with the culture, we work with the history."
For Further Reading :
Spirit Lake woman using horses to help struggling teens
Darla Thiele, Spirit Lake Nation tribe member:
Horse enthusiast Darla Thiele says the key to saving teens who struggle with substance abuse on the Spirit Lake Reservation, is here, with horses. She'll be in charge of the new program.
"When we use our horses, we use the language, we work with the language, we work with the culture, we work with the history."
via Spirit Lake woman using horses to help struggling teens
