Integrative riding school Carlisle Academy is teaming with the University of New England (UNE) to introduce occupational, physical, and speech therapy students to equine therapy.

The course, titled “Introduction to Equine Therapy and Wellness,” debuted during the Fall 2016 semester and includes lectures at UNE and lab sessions at Carlisle Academy in Lyman, New England. Offered to students in UNE’s Health, Wellness and Occupational Studies program in the Westbrook College of Health Professions, the course teaches the fundamentals of hippotherapy, which was developed in therapists in Germany and introduced to the United States in the 1980s, explains a media release from Northeast Media Associates.

Equine therapy can be an effective approach for people with a variety of developmental, acquired or age-related challenges, as well as people with issues related to substance, physical and emotional abuse, the release continues.

“The students’ learning progression has exceeded my expectations. We have been able to discuss treatment theories used by experienced occupational therapists,” says course instructor Susan Grant, OTR/L, NCPS, in the release.

“Students have witnessed, firsthand, magnificent neurodevelopmental changes in our children that directly resulted from our equine based work,” adds Grant, a member of the Carlisle Academy clinical staff who is certified as a Hippotherapy Clinical Therapist.

“We are grateful that the University of New England has allowed us to be part of their students’ learning process. This is a rare university-level opportunity to gain insights and comprehension of hippotherapy and its applications to future clinical work,” says Sarah Armentrout, head of school at Carlisle Academy, in the release.

“We are excited that our students are able to learn about hippotherapy from the experts and innovators at Carlisle Academy. This unique learning opportunity has strengthened our students’ graduate school applications and readiness for post graduate education,” states Elizabeth Francis-Connolly, dean of the UNE Westbrook College of Health Professions, in the release.

[Source(s): Northeast Media Associates, PRWeb]