Gang members, sexual abuse victims and recovering addicts are among those who have been successfully treated through an equine therapy model that is making its way to Bermuda.

Two health professionals trained in the Eagala method visited the island this month to demonstrate to healthcare professionals and potential sponsors the benefits of therapy through interaction with horses, which is being introduced by holistic wellness centre Solstice in partnership with WindReach Bermuda.

Ellen Donaghey, a licensed mental health social worker, who is certified in Eagala, and Jimmy Downes, a national certified addiction counsellor who has obtained his level two Eagala advanced certified, shared real-life therapy breakthroughs they had with clients; often with people who do not respond well to traditional talk therapies.

Ms Donaghey said that she saw a potential for this type of treatment in Bermuda and spoke specifically to the issue of gang affiliation.

She told The Royal Gazette: “Many of my adolescent clients are gang affiliated and before they come out into the arena they like to show a lot of bravado and attract a lot of attention to themselves in how they dress.

“They are not allowed to represent their gang while they are inside. Once they come outside to the arena, all defences are stripped away. All that bravado doesn’t mean anything to the horses, so everybody is allowed to be themselves and work through some of their issues.

“You have people with very different gang affiliations who would be considered enemies on the street and in any other setting they would never be able to get along and they have huge gains in treatment together.

“Some of them talk about no longer wanting to be in a gang because they were able to work on themselves and the issues that prompted them to be affiliated in a way that never happened in a talk therapy session.”

Mr Downes recalled how one of his clients had a breakthrough in what he described as a “unique session”. He explained: “Often they don’t show their emotions a lot so they have their walls up. One of them came out of a male group who tended to be more closed down. One of his ex-girlfriends had a horse and his drug addiction caused him to lose that relationship.

“When he got connected with the horses out there, he acknowledged that and broke down into tears — he was very emotional in front of his peers. That was a unique session and it triggered the rest in the group to open up more. That was pretty significant for me.”

Mr Downes spoke of another client — a female who had served in the military in Afghanistan and was using Eagala to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. However, she actually came away from the session dealing with a past trauma when she was sexually abused as a child. They ended up dealing with the childhood trauma before they could approach therapy for PTSD.

Mr Downes and Ms Donaghey carried out two workshops at the WindReach facility in Warwick and found there was a lot of interest locally.

Mr Downes said: “Everyone who came seemed to have absorbed what we showed them. They got to experience the model by doing an activity and, based on their responses, I feel like most of them got a good feel for what Eagala is about. Several of the clients told us they would like to attend training here in Bermuda. We had a group that was interested in how it can work with victims of sexual abuse and they said they felt it would be an excellent way to help them.”

Ms Donaghey added: “We also heard a lot from the folks who work in the mental health treatment courts who felt that this would be really powerful work for their clients who can take the horses through their journey with them.

“The horses often become a metaphor for them — just like them they didn’t want help, the horse was stubborn. For them there was a lot of coaxing that needed to take place. The therapy becomes a direct metaphor activity where we can create the scenario that fits their needs and identify that in the horses as different aspects of their lives they need to work on.”

Speaking on Eagala’s potential in Bermuda, Mr Downes added: “Eagala is in 50 countries and everywhere it has gone it has really exploded in terms of participation. I believe that it will grow exponentially once you start doing training here in Bermuda because it can serve so many different populations and aspects of life.”

• Anyone interested in Eagala can e-mail equine@solstice.bm. Donations for the Eagala programme can be made to WindReach HSBC 010857621001