Skip to content

Clinical Referrals

This page is designated for licensed mental health professionals currently working with clients (individuals, couples, or families) looking to add Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy as an adjunct service. We accept referrals for REACH (crisis prevention initiative) and invite clinicians wanting to establish a Group Cohort.

Mental health practitioners in private practice, must have and maintain a continued relationship with the clients they are referring to Project Horse.

School mental health staff referring clients for REACH (Rapidly Engaging Adolescents in Counseling with Horses) must ensure that clients have an established relationship with a mental health practitioner outside of the school system to support clients’ needs as a primary counselor before making a referral.

Government, county, and state officials as well as clinicians and case managers looking to connect clients with EAP services should verify that there are primary counselors in place to support the client’s needs before a referral.

Click below for more information about:

To begin making a clinical referral for adjunct:

GROUP THERAPY COHORTS

Groups are custom designed in partnership with referring clinicians for existing cohorts. Individuals with similar goals and challenges enjoy the supportive environment provided by our staff and led by a clinical team to include a therapist, a certified equine specialist, and a horse. Group Cohorts at Project Horse are closed and developed in strict partnership with clinicians for their existing clients.

To discuss the creation and pricing of Group Therapy CohorT:

REACH Initiative

(Rapidly Engaging Adolescents in Counseling with Horses)

Project Horse’s REACH™ initiative has coupled Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy with the major components of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), to help high-school-aged students (14-18 years) learn skills for coping safely with stress and distress.

This program is ideal for individuals experiencing significant depressive episodes, anxiety, suicidal ideations, and/or self-injurious behaviors that have been assessed as stable.

The goal of this program is to identify, intervene, and educate, to prevent crisis or hospitalization. REACH™ is designed for those at RISK, but that HAVE NOT reached the point of crisis. This program is not intended to be LONG-TERM adjunct counseling. (Clients can transition to individual services as appropriate.)

Following a custom-designed curriculum with a fixed number of sessions (five sessions), the REACH™ initiative is delivered by a clinical team that includes a mental health practitioner, Certified Equine Specialist, and a horse. Each session is experiential in nature and contains a psycho-educational component. Each session will have related homework to practice the skills learned. Clients must be willing to commit to the full program.

Committed to efficacy, safety, and data-driven results, this program will require specific clinical assessments to be administered by the referring clinician before referral (at minimum, a suicide screening assessment must be documented at the time of referral). Additional clinical assessment will be administered by Project Horse staff at the first and last session.

PLEASE ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING REFERRAL GUIDELINES:

  • Only applications from Licensed Mental Health providers will be accepted. (Guidance Counselors should make their referrals with their school’s social worker or school psychologist who, in turn, should submit the REACH™ application).
  • All applications must be completed in full with parent/guardian input as necessary.
  • Referred students must be assessed as stable and currently enrolled in a school. (Students may be experiencing the early signs of school refusal but are assessed as willing to attend and participate regularly in this program).
  • Referrals should NOT be acutely suicidal, where hospitalization would be appropriate. A suicide assessment must be done by the referring clinician and the student deemed NOT in CRISIS at the time of referral.
  • Students who are known fire starters or have ever shown a history of aggression towards animals will be excluded from this program.
  • Students with debilitating environmental allergies (such as hay, pollen, dust, and molds) and/or related asthma may be disqualified for medical reasons.
  • Accepted referrals must provide their transportation to/from Project Horse’s Purcellville facility.
  • Submission of an application does NOT guarantee acceptance into the REACH™ initiative.
  • Needs-based funding is available to those that qualify to offset the cost of services.

Are you a mental health professional interested in making a referral TO our REACH™ initiative? Click the button below and fill out the inquiry form.

The Eagala Model incorporates a licensed Mental Health Professional and a qualified Equine Specialist working together with horses and clients as equal partners in an experiential process that empowers life-changing outcomes. » Learn more
The Eagala Model incorporates a licensed Mental Health Professional and a qualified Equine Specialist working together with horses and clients as equal partners in an experiential process that empowers life-changing outcomes. » Learn more
We are honored and thrilled to announce we have received The Guardian Seal of Transparency from The EQUUS Foundation! Project Horse has held this designation for several years and the commitment to transparency and accountability continues with Project Horse under The Arc of Loudoun umbrella. » Learn more
We are honored and thrilled to announce we have received The Guardian Seal of Transparency from The EQUUS Foundation! Project Horse has held this designation for several years and the commitment to transparency and accountability continues with Project Horse under The Arc of Loudoun umbrella. » Learn more