Seven Stars, a residential treatment program and assessment center for teens with neurodevelopmental challenges, is thrilled to announce the readdition of equine therapy at Heritage School. Equine therapy sessions are now available for students in addition to their normal therapeutic programming. 

Equine therapy provides several benefits for students at Seven Stars. Equine therapy teaches students how to foster healthy relationships, regulate their emotions, and build confidence. In each session, students interact with the horses, groom them, and play games with them. The goal is for students to eventually build a relationship strong enough in order to ride the horses. Each week students will be paired with the same horse so they can build trust and foster their relationship with them.

“In equine therapy, students may pick up on the horse’s behavior and apply that to real relationships in their lives,” says Dr. Gordon Day, Executive Clinical Director and Founder of Seven Stars. “Sometimes students struggle to understand the horse’s emotions and their own, so our staff is there to give more concrete instruction and feedback as needed.  Each session is a new learning experience for students. Horses are affected by the emotions and behaviors that the students present and change their own behavior accordingly. This teaches students to change how they are acting to the horse so they can get the proper reaction they want. It’s a great way to teach social cues to our students.”

Equine therapy is a part of the clinical programming at Seven Stars. The clinical model is based on positive psychology. Seven Stars focuses on helping students identify their strengths rather than their weaknesses. Through a personalized, strengths-based approach, students at Seven Stars build their confidence and learn new skills that encourage their long-term growth and continued success.

For more information about therapeutic programming at Seven Stars, visit https://discoversevenstars.com or call 844-601-1167.

Seven Stars is a leading assessment program and residential treatment center for teens ages 13-17 who struggle with neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.  For more information about programming at Seven Stars, please visit https://discoversevenstars.com/ or call 844-601-1167.