N.E.A.T.’s mission is to provide social, emotional and behavioral growth and learning, as well as Psycho Social Rehabilitation, when addressing mental health issues, through work with horses to individuals and groups in northern Nevada.
Equine-assisted therapy for the treatment of mental health, emotional, behavioral, and relationship issues is a relatively new form of therapeutic intervention which recognizes that the bond between animals and humans fosters emotional growth and healing.
Among other things, working with horses can:
- Increase trust and confidence
- Improve self-awareness and focus
- Develop anger management skills
- Build strong and appropriate boundaries
- Reduce loneliness, anxiety, and feelings of isolation
- Decrease impulsive and self-destructive behaviors
- Foster creativity
Under the supervision of marriage and family therapist, N.E.A.T. offers social, emotional, behavioral and mental health interventions for children as young as four, teens, adults, and seniors, as well as work with small groups, couples, siblings, and families. Clients come to us from a variety of referral sources, including self-referral, parents or guardians, teachers, clinicians, and community and social service agencies.
Additional services include preauthorized psycho-social rehabilitation for Medicaid mental health patients.
N.E.A.T.’s therapeutic sessions borrow concepts from a variety of leading horse programs, from Parelli to the OK Corral. We tailor our sessions to each specific client or group we work with; our horses are our partners in this work.
Why horses? Horses offer a special opportunity in therapy. For reasons that may forever remain unknown, the horse is unique in its ability to captivate us–with a power that nobody ever outgrows. Horses have a natural healing power that, over the past 50+ years, has proven to be effective for growth and change in the physically and mentally challenged–and more recently, in work with social, emotional, and personal issues.
Our program is not about “riding lessons.” Traditional riding lessons are goal-oriented, and you learn the skills of riding and horsemanship. N.E.A.T. is process-oriented: through work with horses, clients learn life skills.
Partners Bambi Spahr and Laurie Roberts have been working in the field of equine therapy for the last few years. They shared a joint vision and passion, incorporating in the fall of 2009 and opening for business in March 2010, bringing a new and highly effective therapy to Washoe County, Nevada.
>> More about Bambi and Laurie
We are conveniently located about 20 min. south of Reno and 10 min north of Carson, at the north end of the beautiful New Washoe City. We have both an large outdoor and a covered arena, so we can ride in all weather. This large property offers our clients a variety of opportunities to work with horses.
Clients are seen Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.