Equine-assisted psychotherapy restores regulation and drives deep healing through connection with horses.

Yes. Seven Arrows Recovery is a JCAHO-accredited residential addiction treatment program in Cochise County, Arizona that includes equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) as a core modality — not an add-on. Sessions are led by an Arizona-licensed therapist trained in equine-facilitated practice, with the horses themselves as co-therapists, on a private 160-acre ranch.

Residential drug and alcohol rehabs that use horses deliver the work as equine-assisted psychotherapy, an evidence-informed intervention for trauma, addiction, attachment, and nervous-system regulation. Seven Arrows Recovery operates a dedicated equine program on a 160-acre Arizona ranch, with a herd managed specifically for therapeutic partnership and sessions integrated into each client’s weekly clinical schedule.

Equine-assisted psychotherapy is a licensed mental-health intervention delivered by a clinician in partnership with trained horses. At Seven Arrows, sessions are led by an Arizona-licensed therapist trained in equine-facilitated practice, with the horses themselves as co-therapists, drawing on attachment theory, somatic experiences, and Internal Family Systems (IFS).

No. Most EAP work is done on the ground — leading, groundwork, grooming, and in-hand partnership exercises. Mounted work is offered only when clinically appropriate and under a specific safety protocol; the therapeutic work happens regardless of whether the client ever gets in the saddle.

There is a growing evidence base for equine-assisted approaches in PTSD, anxiety, depression, and substance use — particularly when delivered as an adjunct to standard individual and group therapy. Seven Arrows uses EAP as a complement to CBT, DBT, EMDR, ART, and IFS, not as a replacement.

Clients carrying trauma (including PTSD, combat trauma, military sexual trauma, and complex childhood trauma), attachment injury, grief, moral injury, or high-functioning shame tend to gain the most. Veterans, first responders, healthcare professionals, and clients who have already cycled through traditional residential care often describe EAP as the modality that finally “landed.”

Yes. Every session is led by a licensed therapist trained in equine-facilitated practice, with a documented safety protocol, helmets when mounted, and horses whose temperament and training are specifically matched to this work. A horse who is off, in season, or recovering is rotated out rather than pushed.

A typical EAP session runs about sixty minutes — roughly fifteen minutes of observation and arrival, thirty minutes of groundwork, and fifteen minutes of processing. Most clients have EAP one to two times per week during a residential stay, alongside weekly individual therapy and daily group.

You don’t need to know anything about horses. The work starts with whatever level of contact is safe for your nervous system — sometimes just sharing the ring from a distance. Discomfort is information we can use, not a reason to skip the session.

EAP is offered, not required. Clients who decline are substituted into equivalent clinical hours with no reduction in care intensity or length-of-stay benefits. We don’t push clients toward a modality their gut says isn’t the right fit.

EAP is one of several clinical modalities delivered inside residential addiction treatment, and residential stays are typically reimbursable under most major PPO plans — Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and TRICARE among them — as an out-of-network provider. Our admissions team verifies your specific benefits before you commit.

At our private 160-acre ranch at the base of the Swisshelm Mountains in Cochise County, Arizona — ten minutes from Elfrida, Arizona, about two and a half hours southeast of Tucson International Airport. Our herd lives on the property full-time.