Experiential Social Emotional Learning EASEL®

EASEL® offers structured and theoretically supported process descriptions, psycho-education tools, facilitation principles, and a progressive set of experiential activities.

EASEL® model  is used in therapy,  psychosocial rehabilitation, personal and professional development, corporate and leadership coaching,  special education programs, Green Care and Social Farming.

EASEL® combines psychoeducation with experiential activities with horses, nature, creative  arts  and coaching exercises. In addition to the individual goals of each client, the method enhances

Each facilitator combines with own professional background the general theoretical framework of EASEL® : modern facilitation tools and principles from solution focused coaching and therapy, DBT, DDP, SEL, Adventure Education, and Montessori pedagogy to build a uniquely effective experiential coaching method.

To learn more about the friendship-based horsemanship of EASEL® please watch YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsRzOmcRnm4&feature=related and
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgcSXFklQMc&feature=related

Therapy, learning and leadership are largely a relationship thing. EASEL® facilitator is trained in coaching techniques that help client clarify the question he or she wants to investigate in that session, and in how to effectively use the horse/dog-human relationship to enhance clients’ self-awareness, empathy, communication skills, and leadership ability. Based on the conversation and the client's emotional state, the EASEL® facilitator knows how to design and facilitate an experiential activity to that question. One of the specialities of EASEL® is that it is able to effectively combine individual coaching and a group process.

In an EASEL® process, the facilitator guides the building of a relationship between a client and trained animal co-facilitator. Clients learn in the process about themselves, play, boundaries, dynamics in relationships etc.

The facilitator’s relationship with the animal co-facilitator  a) models to client what a loving relationship based on mutual trust and respect looks like (earned leadership, not taken) b) lets the client evaluate if the facilitator can be trustworthy for him/her, too c) helps create Winnicottian transition space that feels both safe and challenging enough to activate thinking and change d) models what we teach and ask clients to practice.

EASEL® facilitators may specialize in working with dogs, horses and/or other animals. Depending on facilitators own interests and possibilities, EASEL® can include adventure, drama methods, arts and grafts etc. It is also highly efficient in leadership training and coaching in normal office setting. The greatest adventure always happens in the mind!

Experiential learning challenges attitudes and beliefs, and offers new ways of seeing one’s self with others. Horses make experiential learning all the more powerful. So, unless we want a client to dominate people in his or her own life, we should not train the client to dominate the horse.

The objective in all styles of horsemanship is to build a mutually safe and stress-free relationship -  the human as the leader, and the horse trusting that the human will keep him safe.

But there are two technically rather opposite ways to get there.

One way builds leadership first and works with the horse in a small arena or keep s him in a bridle or halter . They later progress to more and more advanced work , that can also include working at liberty on a larger arena. This model copies the natural snaking behavior of a stallion, who needs to get mares to obey him so they stay with him and he can keep them safe from predators and other stallions.

Imitated by a skilled horseperson, the stallion model does result very quickly in the horse following freely. Client’s, however, are rarely skilled horse people, and our goal in equine assisted learning and therapy is rarely to teach horse skills.

The other model, the EASEL® model of friendship-based natural horsemanship, builds first on friendship, care and free play. We work with the horse at liberty on a large arena or pasture. We move into smaller arenas or bridles and ropes, to more leadership based agility and riding or driving, as the relationship develops.    

This model follows the example of the lead mare and how the foals grow up. The lead mare’s job in the herd is to raise socially healthy and physically strong young horses, and to lead the herd to food and water. - To take care, and to teach how to lead and be led.

The foals are kept safe and respectful, but they grow up free to investigate and play within boundaries.

The boundaries change step by step, as the young develop, giving more room for own choices and the responsibility that comes with freedom.

In horses’ friendships, even leadership is situational.  In EASEL®, horses and people follow each other’s suggestions, respect each other’s boundaries, take turns in “leading” or making decisions, play, protect and groom each other.

Friendship-based leadership is the kind that can keep people and horses safe also in faster activities.

 

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