This blog has been created to assist those in the field of equine assisted psychotherapy and learning who have been certified or may be certified by EAGALA - the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association. Over the past few years, issues related to use of their model, certification, training, membership requirements related to certification, ethics, suspension, monitoring of members, financial interest, and control have surfaced amongst people in the field. We hear it and have yet to speak it. This is an opportunity to share questions, concerns, issues, and thoughts.
The field of equine experiential/assisted/guided therapy - whatever terms we choose to use - is important and valuable. Many individuals, organizations, and associations are practicing and supporting the work. Incredible trainings by experienced practitioners are occuring, we are blending all we have learned to best meet the needs and interests of participants. Our equine partners would appreciate this... yet EAGALA has sadly moved to a place of self-proclaimed authority and claims to a model that may or may not work for all clients. Confusion abounds and required adherence to their model, threats of sanctions and loss of certification &/or membership are curious at best.
Let our voices be heard.
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WOW! Someone has finally gotten the courage to start this dialogue. Kudos. Let's send this around to see where it goes.
ReplyDeleteWith gratitude this blog has been created. So many of bought into EAGALA hook line and sinker. EAGALA Certifes 100's if not 1000's who are not even qualified to do the work. I read an add the other day posted on criags list, looking for a license mental health person with NO horse back ground to co-facilitate. I have seen many " equine speccialits who have no knowledge of human behavior, EAGALA encourage equal team work ( equal questioning rights in the arena). I have seen many session where the Equine Speicialist ask a " EAGALA Confortational Question" that cause harm to the client. I also have witness EAGALA 'Ethics Committee" go on full attack, to the point harrassment. I have often wonder, where the non-profit money goes other than lining Lynn Thomas pocket and her board, does a non-profit have the right to police the very people they certify ( many who are not qulified enough to even be certified). EAGALA seems to think so! EAGALA Lynn Thomas and sheep called the board) takes your money and then they sanction you, fine you. force you to spend more money, under the threat of taking away your certification and membership. It has become ALL EAGALA or nothing... ALL BEWARE, Best not to reference EAGALA in any of your print work, website or even mention their name unless you are following the Model 110%, even then you still will be subject to The Ethics Commitee interpretation of your work! " The self-appointed authoirity of Equine Growth and Learning...whoops- using that may be sanctionable. Please send this out to all your friends, you could be doing them a favor!
ReplyDeleteOur sentiments exactly. Unfortunately, the risk of their training (their confrontational questioning style is truly much less effective than they think and may be damaging to certain clients); their ethics committee; and their sanctions (if they are truly doing this!) are not worth it. We choose to remain anonymous as to not risk the organization and it's 'followers' EAGALA doing the same. There are so many great modalities out there for this work and EAGALA seems to think they are something special. We agree that the caliber of many of the masses trained is substandard having seen them work. Also suggest that those interested in the field take a very close look before proceeding with their 'certification'(which they claim they can take away from you even if you don't pay your membership fees!).
ReplyDeleteNever have we been asked if we were EAGALA certified, so thinking that makes a difference is something sold to you because it doesn't. Your work is what brings customers to you. And check around for the many rich and valuable trainings out there.
Thanks, whoever you are, for bringing this up and we will certainly be sending this site around for others to comment.
When I first found EAGALA on the internet eight years ago... I thought I had found a wonderful and interesting way to help others thru non-traditional therapy. In the beginning EAGALA was open to all thru opinion and helping to train in EAGALA ways. I am sure you have heard being "promoted above your capabilities" ... well Lynn and Greg made EAGALA look easy because they seemed to click in the equality of their respective talents working together to train and use equine assisted therapy. I was EAGALA's #1 supporter. I would tell everyone how wonderful this technique and EAGALA was and how amazingly it worked. Then the EAGALA association got "too big for their britches"!!! They tried to black list the original founder and became an "all about me" organization. How much money could they make and how much they could control others. When you go to a training that has 40+ participants in it, with a hands on training as EAGALA does, it appears it is more about how much money they can bring in instead of the training. As someone else stated, "none of my clients ask me about EAGALA and my certification" The clients are impressed with their ability to find their answers and how the horse facilitates this process. Many say, "I have had lots of therapy before and nothing has touched me as the horses have!!! My ability and my partners(equine professional and equine) Are what makes this untraditional therapy work so well. I don't need what EAGALA has turned into to help me succeed. They need to return to their roots and care about others again. I strongly suggest everyone look around and discover other trainings out there and don't loose site of what equine assisted therapy is all about. Maybe Lynn and board need to participate in an equine session to wake up!!
ReplyDeleteEAGALA lacks the insight in a way that symbolizes exactly what many clients suffer-imagine that-a mental health organization that is not mentally well!!!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone had or know of members having problems with their ethics committee or sanctions? Have heard some rumors.
ReplyDeleteoh yes.
ReplyDeleteEAGALA seems to be expert at rewriting history to suit their needs. I saw Lynn Thomas call herself the "Founder" of EAGALA in two different places now. Is no one questioning this? This is very different from several years ago when she said she knew nothing about horses or their therapeutic value prior to meeting the "real" Founder. Emperor's New Clothes - UGH. EAGALA is turning EAP into "SAP" (Sheep assisted psychotherapy).
ReplyDeleteNot allowed to question EAGALA. Try it. See what happens. I have witnessed and heard directly from participants the insults, attacks, and turning on training attendents who question the EAGALA model. Their model, in my humble opinion (after practicing for over 10 years), is based on a youth behavioral model. Many who teach for EAGALA have those limitations as well. Not only have we found their model completely inaffective, but causes harm to clients, especially clients with trauma related symptoms. They miss the point of having the horses as teachers. Taking tons of money from folks, many whom are totally incompetent. Time for some competition in this industry.
ReplyDeleteStumbled onto this blog. Let's get this conversation going.
ReplyDeleteAs a psychotherapist offering equine facilitated psychotherapy for 6 years, I decided to attend an EAGALA level 1 training recently. Open, curious, and interested in learning more modalities, I went eager to learn and connect with other practitioners in the field. I was not only disappointed, but alarmed at their model, their facilitation style, and their use of the horses.
It was apparent that they were clearly not interested in engaging and reflecting on different approaches. The facilitators were, in fact, attacking different approaches, considerations for the horse, the value of the horse.
I will not attend another, nor will I encourage anyone to do so.
More conversation in blogs like this will be important.
Answering this anonymously seems to be the trend and although it is rare that I do not sign my name to blogs, after attending and subsequently talking to others, I understand the wrath this organization brings.
Is it true? Two different people have now told me that they have been stripped of their EAGALA certification because they chose not to (pay the money to) renew their membership. IS THIS TRUE? Does the pay-off ever end? Does EAGALA require members to put EAGALA in their will for post-mortem membership dues and renewals?
ReplyDeleteI believe it is true! Can you un-certify someone? I think not. They are not a licensing board...just acting like one. I was certified early on in their program and do not recall ever committing to that but now understand that this is in their agreements. Certainly would not have agreed to that. What a racket! And for what?
ReplyDeleteI haven't paid dues in over a year and have not received a letter of de-certification. Wonder when that fateful letter will arrive? What will they do if I continue to state I am EAGALA certified? Hmmm.... Did notice they took me off their resource list. No worries there. Prefer not to have someone calling requesting a service I do not believe is appropriate in many situations.
ReplyDeleteAnyone recognize their use of horses? And when questioned, they turn it back to the one that asked the question as if they had something wrong with them. What the heck? Who do they think they are?
ReplyDeleteanyone hear about the accident with 60+ attendees in Minnesota, sending people to the hospital? I've heard of many more, including a client being kicked in the chest and suffering life threatening consequences. Is ANYONE paying attention to their safety issues?
ReplyDeleteI'm not an expert on EAGALA by any means but the one event I worked at with an EAGALA certified instructor (as the equine assistant and provider of horses) caused me to wonder if the horses could feel any more humiliated with the silly games that were played.
ReplyDeleteHorses are sensitive intelligent beings and don't need people who know nothing about them trying to put on equipment in weird ways, do things that annoy the heck out of them and generally not consider their part of the experience.
I know horses are great teachers and mirrors, but they must be given a say in whether they want to interact with people who are not always 'mentally healthy'.
Other programs I've read about (Kathy Pike's for instance)give the horse a choice.
Its sad that organisations such as EAGALA become corporatised (as Parelli did) and stop listening to the people who they are taking money from.
after several years of trying to incorporate their model into therapy for trauma victims, and wondering why the clients were not doing well nor were the horses, we realized that for the good of all, we must change. it came so naturally. we retreated, listened deeply to the clients and horses, and have totally revamped our services. horses and clients are doing well. the eagala model is, quite honestly, dangerous for traumatized clients. hope folks wake up to it and start looking at other options. this is the first i've come across this blog and intend to tell others and encourage this dialogue. would do eagala some good to read it, don't ya think?
ReplyDeleteI truely believe that most people in the equine facilitated industries mean well - including most of EAGALA's members. Now I am not so sure about Eagala itself.
ReplyDeleteI was appalled to see that the Eagala administration chose to spend 90,000 dollars of "their members money" in 2006 in their ongoing battle to destroy their founder.
Then I saw the picture of the EAGALA office on the legal website and was again surprised to see a big Ron Paul for President banner on the front lawn of the "nonprofit." I know from the recent election that those signs are NOT free, and now I am wondering "who" paid for that!
I thought that nonprofits that were tax-exempt were supposed to be "non-partisan?"
ReplyDeletewow...the eagala office had a ron paul sign in front? that is illegal. they should be reported. they can and should lose their non-profit status if in fact that is the case. amazing.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin used to live in Genola (next to Santaquin), and she and her family thought that was the Ron Paul headquarters!:)
ReplyDeleteThis should be reported to the feds who issue non-profit status. Think I might just do this. When you look at what others are saying, isn't this group a little fishy?
ReplyDeleteThat picture is still posted at gregkersten.com - is that enough proof to get nonprofit status revoked? They might just tell them to take it down and slap them on the wrist.
ReplyDeleteProbably correct, but it might trigger officials to start paying attention.
ReplyDeleteI saw that Ariana Strozzi is featuring Lynn Thomas and EAGALA at her conference. If there ever was a difference in approaches, this is the one.
ReplyDeletethis is such an interesting blog. how do we get more people to pay attention?
ReplyDeleteDoes EAGALA give any type of guidelines for the type of horses used? Since the clients are probably not horse savvy, I would think the horses would have to be somewhat tolerant of the things they have the people doing. I can imagine the liability is tremendous. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
ReplyDelete