Equine Therapy (also referred to as Hippotherapy, Horse Therapy, Equine Assisted Therapy, Equine Assisted Leadership, Equine Assisted Learning  and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy) is a form of experiential therapy that involves interactions between a therapy provider, a horse specialist, a client/clients, and horses. It can be delivered individually or in groups. Sometimes the therapy provider and equine specialist are the same person and sometimes they are not – depending on the training, model and experience of the Equine Practitioner. South Coast Psychology Equine Assisted Therapists are trained in either Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP), Equine Assisted Learning (EAL), Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) and/or are experienced Horse Specialists. The two main modles of practice are EPI and EAGALA. We also have Counsellors, Social Workers, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Psychologists who work with trained Equine Specialists to deliver Animal Assisted Therapies to their clients. Equine Assisted Therapy involves activities (such as engaging with, grooming, feeding, haltering and leading a horse, as well as some projective and mounted experiences) that are designed by a mental health professional in conjunction with a horse professional to work with clients. Both during the activity and after the client has finished working with the horse, the Equine Assisted Specialist and Therapist can observe and interact with the client in order to identify behaviour patterns and processes, thoughts and emotions. The goal of Equine Assisted Therapy and learning is to help the client develop needed skills and attributes, such as emotion regulation, confidence, relationship skills, responsibility, self-confidence, problem-solving skills, and self-control. Equine Assisted Therapy also provides space in which the mental health therapist and the client can identify and address a range of emotional and behavioural challenges through the observations of the equine specialist and the interactions between the horse/s and the client/s.