Best Practices In Equine Assisted Therapies For At-Risk Youth

Abstract

Purpose: To develop evidence-based best practice recommendations for nursing professionals, community and health professionals, and parents to reference when considering equine assisted therapy (EAT) for at-risk youth. Background: Developmentally, adolescents are at risk for developing unhealthy lifestyle choices and coping mechanisms. EAT programming is an intervention that is gaining evidence-based support and is an experiential therapy that provides youth with a greater range of emotional wellness and relational skills than traditional classroom counseling. Approach to practice: The best practice recommendations are based on a literature review conducted through a search on PubMed with the following keywords: at-risk youth, adolescents, equine, and psychotherapy. The articles included in this search were published from 2007 to 2017. Ten articles were included in the literature review portion of this thesis. Outcomes: The proposed best practice recommendations are for professionals to reference when identifying potential candidates that would benefit from EAT and when determining if a program is credible for referral. Conclusions: As more research on EAT is conducted and published, the guidelines can be more intricately defined and professionals working to address the mental health wellness needs of at-risk youth can feel more confident in referring clients to EAT.