Evidence-based treatment that helps you identify and change the thought patterns driving addiction and mental health challenges. Used by every therapist at Valley Spring across all program levels.
Equine-Assisted Therapy (EAT) is an experiential treatment approach that involves guided interactions with horses to promote emotional growth, self-awareness, and behavioral change. Horses are highly sensitive to human emotions and body language, providing immediate, honest feedback that helps individuals develop trust, communication skills, emotional regulation, and accountability. This non-traditional therapy offers a powerful complement to talk-based approaches.
At Valley Spring Recovery Center, Equine-Assisted Therapy is offered as a complementary experiential modality for clients who may benefit from non-traditional therapeutic approaches. Our clinical team coordinates equine sessions that address trust-building, emotional regulation, boundary-setting, and interpersonal skills. Under the guidance of Henry Iwuala and Dr. Michael Olla, equine therapy is integrated into individualized treatment plans to enhance the overall recovery experience.
EAT is especially effective for people with co-occurring disorders -- those struggling with both substance use and mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, or PTSD. By addressing the thinking patterns that fuel both conditions, EAT creates lasting change from the inside out.
Equine-Assisted Therapy sessions involve structured activities with horses -- not riding, but groundwork interactions like grooming, leading, and obstacle courses. Your therapist observes how you interact with the horse and uses those moments as therapeutic touchpoints. If the horse pulls away, you explore why. If it follows you willingly, you examine what built that trust. These interactions become powerful metaphors for relationships, boundaries, and emotional patterns in your life.
The first phase of EAT focuses on awareness. Your therapist helps you recognize the automatic thoughts, cognitive distortions, and core beliefs that drive unhealthy behaviors. These might include catastrophizing ("everything is ruined"), all-or-nothing thinking ("if I slip once, I've failed"), or overgeneralization. At Valley Spring, this foundation is introduced in Week 1 of our Mental Health Program curriculum through dedicated EAT Introduction sessions.
Once you can identify distorted thinking, you learn to challenge it. Your therapist guides you through techniques like cognitive restructuring, thought records, and Socratic questioning to test whether your thoughts are based in reality or fueled by emotion and habit. By Week 3 of treatment, our curriculum progresses to Cognitive Flexibility -- helping you challenge distortions, examine core beliefs, and build more balanced perspectives that support recovery.
The final phase translates insight into action. You practice new behavioral strategies -- such as grounding techniques, behavioral activation, exposure exercises, and relapse prevention planning -- that replace old patterns with constructive responses. These skills become tools you carry beyond treatment, helping you navigate triggers, cravings, and stressors in everyday life with confidence and clarity.
At Valley Spring Recovery Center, Equine-Assisted Therapy is a valued component of our comprehensive treatment approach. Our clinical team integrates EAT techniques into individualized treatment plans across all program levels, ensuring every client receives the benefits of this approach.
This means whether you are in Partial Care, Intensive Outpatient, Virtual IOP, or our Outpatient Program, you will receive EAT-informed treatment from day one. Our dually-licensed clinicians combine EAT with complementary modalities like DBT, motivational interviewing, and trauma-focused approaches to create a treatment experience tailored to your unique needs.
Under the clinical leadership of Henry Iwuala, Clinical Director, and Dr. Michael Olla, Medical Director, our team ensures that EAT is delivered with both clinical rigor and genuine compassion -- creating a safe space for the difficult work of changing deeply held thought patterns.
Equine-Assisted Therapy has strong clinical evidence for treating a wide range of substance use and mental health disorders.
Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and panic disorder
Major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder
Post-traumatic stress from trauma, abuse, or critical incidents
Alcohol, opioid, cocaine, and polysubstance addictions
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions
Mood stabilization and managing manic-depressive episodes
Attention-deficit patterns, impulsivity, and focus challenges
Emotional regulation and interpersonal relationship patterns
Disordered eating patterns and body image distortions
Simultaneous substance use and mental health conditions
EAT is not limited to a single program -- it is a core therapy modality integrated into every stage of care at Valley Spring.
Intensive daily EAT sessions address acute thought distortions. Structured curriculum introduces EAT fundamentals, thought records, and cognitive awareness during the most critical stabilization phase.
EAT deepens with cognitive flexibility work -- challenging distortions, examining core beliefs, and building restructuring skills. Group EAT sessions reinforce individual progress with peer support.
EAT continues via telehealth with real-world application. Clients practice EAT techniques in their daily environment while maintaining therapeutic support and accountability.
EAT skills become lifelong tools. Alumni access ongoing CBT-informed groups and check-ins that reinforce healthy thinking patterns and prevent relapse long after primary treatment ends.
Decades of clinical research consistently demonstrate EAT as one of the most effective therapeutic approaches for addiction and mental health treatment.
At Valley Spring, our commitment to evidence-based care means we do not simply offer EAT as an add-on -- we build treatment plans around it. Our CARF accreditation reflects our adherence to the highest standards of clinical practice, and our therapists receive ongoing training to stay current with the latest EAT research and techniques. This dedication to clinical excellence is what makes EAT at Valley Spring not just a therapy session, but a transformative experience.
Speak with our admissions team to learn how EAT can be part of your personalized recovery plan.
Whether it is your first session or your fiftieth, here is what EAT looks like at Valley Spring Recovery Center.
Your first EAT session is designed to feel safe, structured, and collaborative. You will not be asked to dive into deep emotional territory right away. Instead, your therapist will:
Most clients describe their first session as "surprisingly comfortable." Our therapists are skilled at building rapport quickly and creating a judgment-free space for honest conversation.
As treatment progresses, EAT sessions become more focused and skills-oriented. You will move from awareness into active change:
In group EAT sessions, you will also benefit from hearing how peers apply these techniques -- often gaining insights that deepen your own understanding and accelerate progress.
Our admissions team is available to answer your questions and help you get started with treatment.