The Equine Empowerment Center, Inc. provides research-based programming to ensure the best possible outcomes for participants.

The Whispers with Horses intervention was developed by Bill Marchand, Lisa Finnell and colleagues. It was initially developed to be a manualized, and ultimately evidence-based, psychotherapy incorporating horses for Veterans and others. An initial pilot study demonstrated potential benefit and additional studies are ongoing. If shown to be effective by more rigorous studies, the goal is to disseminate the intervention to the equine-assisted services field.

The study publication, Evaluation of a mindfulness and self-compassion-based psychotherapy incorporating horses for Veterans who have experienced trauma, can be accessed here:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2023.102914

Equine Empowerment Center, Inc.

Research

In addition to the development and evaluation of Whispers with Horses, literature reviews and studies of other equine interventions have been conducted and results published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Published articles can be access below, organized by topic.

Horsemanship skills training for Veterans with PTSD

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2022.102910

Equine-assisted services for Veterans with addictive disorders

A Pilot Observational Study of Implementing an Equine-Assisted Services Program Within a VA Medical Center Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usac028

A Pilot Replication Study of Implementing an Equine-Assisted Services Program Within a VA Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usad274

A pilot observational study of recreational trail riding for Veterans with addictive disorders
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2022.102813

Examining the Psychological Measures and Feasibility of Recreational Trail Rides in Reducing Cravings for Addictive Substances among Veterans: A Replication Pilot Study https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usae352

Equine-assisted services for medical staff resiliency

A pilot observational study of a psychotherapy incorporating equines resiliency intervention for staff at a large medical center
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101660

A replication study of a psychotherapy incorporating horses resiliency intervention for healthcare workers https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2023.102965

Reviews of the literature

Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies for Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Current State, Challenges and Future Directions https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2470547021991556

Potential Mechanisms of Action and Outcomes of Equine-Assisted Services for Veterans with a History of Trauma: A Narrative Review of the Literature  10.3390/ijerph20146377