Horses and Healing: Explorations in Therapeutic Empathy for Psychotherapists

Abstract

This hermeneutic and heuristic study explores how the horse–human relationship, when viewed through the lens of depth psychology, can be applied to healing and transforming trauma. The study is an attempt to provide an understanding of the potential for a horse–human relationship to be instructive and invaluable in teaching clinicians in practice and clinical training the fundamental skill of empathy for working more effectively to heal the wounds of trauma for combat veterans who suffer with posttraumatic stress disorder. The five main components of the research are (1) an investigation of the history and role of equine assisted psychotherapy, (2) an analysis of the history of horses as a symbol, (3) a heuristic exploration of the author’s personal relationships with horses for almost 40 years, (4) an inquiry into the clinical skill of empathy, and (5) an evaluation of trauma as it applies to veterans who struggle with posttraumatic stress disorder.