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The Equine-imity Project
Share PrintThe Equine-imity Project seeks to provide veterans a therapeutic experience that enhances life skills and interpersonal relationships through equine-assisted services.
Origin:
September 2019, VA San Diego Healthcare System
Adoptions:
1 successful
Awards and Recognition:
iNET Seed Investee, iNET Spread Investee
Partners:
Caregiver Support Program, Care Management and Social Work Services, Healthcare Innovation and Learning, Homeless, Innovation Ecosystem, VHA Innovators Network
Recent Updates
Overview
Problem
Some veterans lack life skills necessary to maintain healthy relationships and cope with daily life. This may lead to an increase in substance abuse, homelessness, intimate partner violence, and suicide. In 2020, the VHA estimated there were 6,100 veterans who died by suicide. Existing interventions don't always reach our most vulnerable veterans.
Videos
An overview of veteran experiences with the Equine-imity Project
Solution
The Equine-imity Project takes veterans out of the traditional clinical setting and into an alternative healing experience using horses. Our program offers an opportunity for veterans to learn about, and practice, fundamental life skills in a tangible way. We provide a Participant and Facilitator Guide for our 8-week curriculum, making it easy to replicate a
...
The Equine-imity Project takes veterans out of the traditional clinical setting and into an alternative healing experience using horses. Our program offers an opportunity for veterans to learn about, and practice, fundamental life skills in a tangible way. We provide a Participant and Facilitator Guide for our 8-week curriculum, making it easy to replicate and adapt to specific veteran populations.
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Results
We have found veterans responded very well. 78% of participants who completed the program reported an increase in mental well-being and 63% reported an increase in psychological flexibility. One of our women veterans bonded immediately with a black horse and shared how she told it again and again how beautiful it was. She said, "I would never say that abou
...
We have found veterans responded very well. 78% of participants who completed the program reported an increase in mental well-being and 63% reported an increase in psychological flexibility. One of our women veterans bonded immediately with a black horse and shared how she told it again and again how beautiful it was. She said, "I would never say that about myself." She experienced a shift in perspective. Many veterans have shared stories of similar shifts in perspective and insights into their behaviors.
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Diffusion tracker
Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)
Implementation
Timeline
-
6 months
- Identify community equine partner- Have partner register as vendor in sam.gov- Initiate contract process as needed -
3 months
- Train/educate community partner equine behavior specialist- Marketing to providers and veterans -
2 months
- Recruit participants -
2-3 weeks
- Complete program assessments and distribute program materials
Departments
- Mental health care
- Social work
- Chaplaincy
- Psychiatry
- LGBTQ+ Veteran care
- Complementary and alternative medicine
- Caregiver support
- Addiction and substance abuse treatment
- Psychology
- Intimate partner violence
- Military sexual trauma
- Primary care
- PTSD treatment
- Suicide prevention
- Whole health
- Women Veteran care
- Homeless Veteran care
Core Resources
| Resource type | Resource description |
|---|---|
PEOPLE |
|
PROCESSES |
|
TOOLS |
|
Files
- Warrick Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale measures mental well-being WEMWBS
- Action and Acceptance Questionnaire measures psychological flexibility AAQ-2
Support Resources
| Resource type | Resource description |
|---|---|
PEOPLE |
|
PROCESSES |
|
Risks and mitigations
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| The size of the animals used in the Equine-imity Projects makes them inherently dangerous | The community equine partner will carry liability insurance. Equine behavior specialist, an expert in horse psychology, will be co-facilitate all groups and will pick the equines used based on temperament as well as each animal's ability to participate in herd/human interactions. Volunteers may also be used as needed for more complex activities. |
| Veterans may be triggered by topic or group discussion | Licensed independent practioners (LCSW, PhD, PsyD, MD) will co-facilitate all groups and be trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques. |
Contact
Comment
Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.
Email dina.seerden@va.gov with questions about this innovation.
About
Origin story
Dina Seerden, LCSW had been trained in Equine Assisted Services many years prior to reading an email inviting employees at the VA to apply for an Innovation Award through the iNet Spark-Seed-Spread program. Along with her colleague, Sumaya Dinglasan, LCSW and input from their identified community equine partner, the Equine-imity Project was born. By focusing
...
Dina Seerden, LCSW had been trained in Equine Assisted Services many years prior to reading an email inviting employees at the VA to apply for an Innovation Award through the iNet Spark-Seed-Spread program. Along with her colleague, Sumaya Dinglasan, LCSW and input from their identified community equine partner, the Equine-imity Project was born. By focusing on the problems frequently seen in formerly homeless veterans, a curriculum was developed to address what was determined to be a need for life skills. These issues included homelessness, substance abuse, intimate partner violence, and suicidal ideation/behavior.
The program was designed to minimize the stigma often associated with traditional mental health care, to engage veterans experientially, and to offer tangible insight into behavior through activities with their equine partners. The first few groups were loosely structured and a need for consistency across cohorts was identified. Thus a manual for participants and facilitators was created.
Original team
Dina Seerden, LCSW
Equine-imity Project Coordinator
Jennifer Auguer, LCSW
Equine-imity Project Facilitator, Eastern Colorado Healthcare System
Amy Donarico, LCSW
Equine-imity Project Facilitator, Jennifer Moreno VA Healthcare System (San Diego)
Is there more information to be shared for interested community partners? I think this is a brilliant concept, and out in the Denver/Colorado Springs area, a great potential of community groups and organizations that could be utilized to expand the program.
Thank you for your comment. We are happy to forward information regarding interested community partners to our Denver-area colleagues.
I am so thankful that we have this resource available to our HUD VASH Veterans!
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