Equine Therapy Helping Veterans Cope with PTSD
Quesnel, B.C. – When it comes to helping veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Paul Nichols isn’t horsing around.
He and his wife Terry have a farm and riding centre in Quesnel where they run a therapeutic rider program know as Equine Assisted Mindfulness (EAM).
Paul Nichols – photo submitted
The program is designed to help people struggling to deal with PTSD – including veterans like himself.
You see Paul served with the Canadian Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry in Croatia in 1993 and says a few years later began to struggle.
“I tried to fit into a community that didn’t understand me for who I was and I wasn’t very prepared for that and it took me a few years. I was so proud of what we accomplished in the Balkans but I would hear things like ‘but you’re just a peacekeeper or you’re not really a veteran.'”
Nichols says EAM helped him cope and from there decided to raise awareness in the hopes of helping other veterans who were struggling.
He says it led the launch of the Communities for Veterans Foundation and a 200 day ride across Canada which wrapped up last month.
“The idea of the Communities for Veterans Foundation is to reintroduce Canadians to their contemporary veterans so when our veterans are struggling they don’t have to do so alone.”
Paul says 360 veterans saddled up on the cross Canada trek while 1,000 participated in the ride.
Back at the farm, he says wife Terry puts participants through the program.
“Horses are like a bio-feedback machine, and help tune us into some of those civilian sensitivities we struggle with,” says Paul.
“They (horses) force you to have a plan and to look forward and really highlight some of the challenges that we face.”
Fresh back from their incredible journey, Paul is already looking forward to the next chapter.
“I’m really looking forward to what comes next, we’ve got great support from our own community. A whole new world is opening up and I think we can continue to make a difference.”
If you’d like to learn more about the program call 250-991-2463.
Comments
Interesting article which was on with Anderson Cooper on CNN. It is about taking soliders coming out of wars.
500 years ago, men coming out of war would walk home, which may take months. They walked home with other men. Thus it gave them time and solitude to mend their souls and mind.
Today, we take them from the killing fields, and two days later send them home.
So the article was about a group which takes these men and women who are coming off of service, and going for a long walk together, I think their journey was 90 days. It gave the individual a chance to change their mind set, talk to others about themselves, fears, and outlook. It gave them a chance to make that transition.
You’d figure with all those brainiac’s in Ottawa and Washington, they could put some thought into this. Give something back to these men and women. Don’t let them do it on their own.
He spoke, if you have a link to this story, I’d be interested. Tried google. I work in this area and may possibly begin working with vets soon, so would like to know more about this idea.
Krusty, Sorry I don’t know how to do that.
It was an awards night thing with Anderson Cooper. It was on the air less than a month ago.
The show was CNN Heroes 2015. The program is called Warrior Hike organized by US Marine veteran Sean Gobin. They have a website WarriorHike.org that has more information
Thank Whatthe.
It is amazing that there are people that would place a thumb downs on this topic and comments. How ignorant is that person, not to recognize that the news is to inform people of what they are doing to improve lives, the comment is all supportive.
He Spoke. My guess is that a lot of the thumbs down are for the poster as opposed to the story. Either that or some people have problems with understanding the content of the posts.
Thanks to Whatthe, I will pursue this. I’m well-versed on the theory and treatment of PTSD and can’t think of a theory that would explain how this might work, but sure am interested in reading more. If it works, who gives a fig about theory?
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