LEAP Military Services
We are all aware of the challenges of the traditional service delivery system for our Veterans. Lowcountry Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy is able to offer innovative, state of the art mental health treatment using highly effective evidence-based approaches- with horses! This program addresses the emotional challenges of Veterans and their families, including the horrors of combat-related PTSD and other stress-related conditions, depression, substance abuse secondary to trauma, family reintegration issues, and military sexual trauma. LEAP also serves a large child/adolescent population who have developed anxiety and depression secondary to the experiences encountered in being part of a ‘military family’, sometimes including the multiple deployments of their parent(s). As we all know, the traditional service delivery system for our Veterans has its challenges. The LEAP Veterans Outreach Program has proven to be much more ‘user friendly’ to the military population. The LEAP Veterans Outreach Program provides readily available, confidential, evidence-based psychological services to Veterans using an experiential, 'hands on' approach that works!
We believe that many Veterans are not receiving much needed treatment due to the complexity of the trauma with which they are dealing, as well as the failure of the existing system to respond to their needs. The news services have reported the tragic outcomes of Veterans not able to access psychological services in a timely way. Veterans frequently do not seek needed psychological help because they feel uncomfortable in a traditional office setting. Talking about their problems is often not consistent with who they are and who they want to be.
Working with horses in a natural outdoor setting as part of the treatment modality has been found to be extremely effective. Research shows that contact with a horse reduces heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol (adrenaline) levels – all of which are triggered when an individual is ‘reminded’ of a traumatic event. These physiological reactions make trauma treatment very difficult, because trauma survivors attempt to control these distressing feelings by avoiding them, and consequently tend to avoid treatment. We have found that working with Veterans with PTSD using horses helped them regulate these uncomfortable physiological states, which allows us to help them address and resolve the traumatic events of their past.
Due to our unique and effective experiential approach, LEAP is becoming known as the place to refer Veterans who have been unsuccessful in other, more traditional office-based forms of psychotherapy, such as those offered by the VA. These patients are particularly at risk because, prior to programs like LEAP, the mental health community had no effective alternatives. As a growing number of Veterans have found the help that they needed through equine-assisted psychotherapy, there has been an increased awareness in the professional community (schools and mental health alike) of the effectiveness of this approach.
WHAT WE DO
Leap Military Service sessions quickly translate emotional insights into life-changing action. LEAP Military Service standards and treatment protocols promote healthy life transitions through practical application of proven principles rooted in military culture.
Foster resilience in times of high stress. The LEAP Military Services approach is based on experience and doing. This provides opportunities for service members and their families to discover their resources and strengths and overcome perceived obstacles to change.
Break through the barriers to care. Clients challenge themselves in activities with horses that remove much of the perceived stigma associated with traditional talk therapy treatment methods.
Find real world solutions to their toughest challenges. Clients find their own solutions to the struggles in their lives. Clients build on their resilience and learn through self-discovery the changes that they need to make in order to be more successful in both military and civilian life.
CHAIN OF COMMAND VALIDATION
Representatives of the Equine Growth and Learning Association have briefed and demonstrated the benefits of equine-assisted psychotherapy as provided by Military Services Designated providers throughout the chain of command, receiving strong support from officers in these organizations:
Office of the US Army Surgeon General
Office of the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
U.S. Army MEDCOM Warrior Transition Command
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Human Performance Resource Center