Nadine: [00:00:00] Well, I am very excited to say that we have something different for you on this month's b side. You can expect to hear, as normal, this episode pick up on something from the Wonderful Airside conversation with equine practitioner Alex Gulland, but what's new this time is that it is Alex who's going to be taking you through this b side.

During the conversation that Alex and I had, It became apparent that there was this whole world of therapy that I knew very little about. And I wondered if you felt the same. So here is Alex talking you through what you might be able to expect from a first session working with an equine practitioner.

Alex takes us from her studio to the paddock to meet her equine colleagues and then she takes us into a full body scan, just as she would with anyone who comes to see her for the first time. It's a great opportunity to bring a bit of meditation to your day. But before I hand over to Alex I just want to say hi first to one of our listeners.

Hi to Amy. Hi, Amy. I wanted to pick up on something that Amy said. You said that [00:01:00] the show was relatable and that you thought, you thought I would be a good therapist and it shocks. Thanks for that. That's kind. And I'm not showing that just to show off because. Amy, you've hit on one of the reasons why I set up the podcast, This Won't Fix You, in the first place.

Because I wanted to give people a bit of an opportunity to see what it might be like to have therapy with me. Because I think it's so hard to imagine, when you're looking through all those profiles, it's so hard to imagine sitting with somebody and sharing such personal things, sometimes your biggest shames, those monsters under the bed, when all you've got to go on is that really, Scanty written profile on either the BACP or the UKCP websites.

And so I'm glad, Amy, that you can imagine what it might be like to sit with me. So thanks for sharing that. And for the rest of you, I would love to feature your message on the podcast. And don't forget that you can message me via the fan mail link at the bottom of the show [00:02:00] notes. Anyway, that's all from me.

Thanks, Alex. It's over to you.

Alex: Hello, my name is Alex Gulland. If you'd listen to my. interview or chat with Nadine. You'll know that I'm a equine practitioner and that means I work with horses or ponies to help people with various issues. I'm also a trained mental health counsellor. I've just qualified in person centred therapy and I also am studying polyvagal theory.

and equine polyvagal theory. Nadine passed over the baton to me really to, to, to see if I could do a b side so I'm going to try and do justice to the amazing b sides that she always does. I'm going to talk you through what I would [00:03:00] normally do with a client. So when somebody comes to me for the first time, what's the process?

And this is just in case, you know, you, anybody out there wants to look at doing any kind of equine therapy or equine assisted learning. So in the first instance, what we do once we've connected with each other is that we ensure that we talk through with the client, how many sessions We would have with them.

So normally it's eight and these need to be eight consecutive sessions. I then asked them to fill out, uh, an assessment form. So the assessment form really is basic details, you know, point of contact in case of emergency, doctor's contact, little bit of their background. Um, any details on whether they're on medication.

And then also I get them to sign a safety form. Once [00:04:00] that's done, I would then invite them to come and see me up at Silver Birch. And that's where we're going to go now. So I'm going to jump in my car. And the next time you'll hear me I'll be up at Silver Birch. Okay so I've just arrived at Silver Birch.

Here we go into the yard which is a little bit quieter and what we'd normally do is we'd have met the client in the car park and then come in to the yard. Where all the ponies are, it's a lot quieter. So, at this stage in our session with the clients, um, I'll be in the yard with the client, and, um, we will be going through, um, a contract, so going [00:05:00] through confidentiality and, um, um, explaining the membership of the BACP and all those other things that, you know, we have to do as councillors.

And we'll be walking around the stable itself. So the stable itself is, um, it houses probably about 20 ponies and horses. Um, and at this time of the day, some of the ponies and horses are, um, in the stables and some of them are out in the field because they tend to alternate them. And while we're doing this, while we're walking around and chatting and I'm introducing the various horses and ponies to the client, um, we would also be discussing, you know, what they want to get out of the therapy sessions with me, what their overall Um, objectives might be and also to kind of like look at any issues that they really want to work on.

So this is kind of, [00:06:00] you know, this is really good for me to see which horses the client is connecting with. And the reason for that, uh, getting them to, you know, talk about what attracts them to that particular horse. If they are, um, attracted to one horse or indeed, you know, if they're kind of, um, fearful of a horse for whatever reason, um, it just really helps for me to kind of get to know them a little bit more.

And before we then start the, um, actual, um, session where we're working directly with the horse in the school, uh, I will. take the client, um, into an area of the yard where we have our forest walk and I would go through a body scan. And this is something that really helps them to regulate [00:07:00] themselves. So it's really kind of just checking in, getting them to check in with their emotions, getting them to check in, you know, what they're feeling at this precise moment in time.

Checking in on their breathing. You know, we know that horses pick up on the way that we breathe. We know that they pick up on our body language. So it's really making the client aware of themselves and their body language and you know, where they're, where they're at kind of mentally. So you can hear there's quite a lot going on in the background and, and.

That's the general kind of hubbub from the farm. As we're walking along this track, which we call the forest trail, um, you can kind of hear that there's a canopy of leaves over us. And we're going to stop [00:08:00] about halfway through and do, uh, do our scan.

So I've got with me today to practice on another equine practitioner, a lady called Jane, so she's gonna, I'm gonna practice my body scan on her. So, I'm gonna stand facing the woods.

And so remember, this is just about checking in with your body. So to start with, three big deep breaths in. In for four, out for six, in for four, out for six. And while we're doing this scan, you can either close your eyes or focus on a point in the distance. So for Jane, it would be a distance in the wood or she [00:09:00] might close her eyes.

And all the while she's giving those lovely deep breaths in for four. About for six. Ellie the dog has just come to join us, which is good. And then, Jen, if you imagine you're looking down on the top of your head and travelling down to your forehead. If you've got a frown or anything like that, just see if you can release it.

Travelling down to your eyes. Just make a note of anything that you can see. So you might see some shapes, you might see colors. Some people see colors when they've um, got their eyes closed.

And down to your nose. So while you're taking those deep breaths in, just be aware of what you can smell. So then this scan is really about [00:10:00] awakening your senses as well. So we can smell the earthiness, the wood that's in front of us. The horses that we've just been with and traveling down to your mouth and give yourself a smile.

Because you made it here today and that's an achievement. So you can hear a little, you can hear somebody as we're doing this again, just coming through the woods here. They've got like a little bell on their dogs. That's what you can hear. It's not Father Christmas. So just take that into account. And then coming down, so down to your mouth.

Think about your tongue resting in your mouth. That might make you want to swallow. Coming down your neck. Right the way down your throat. It's your shoulders. And all the while you're taking these lovely deep breaths. In for four, out for six. [00:11:00] In for four, out for six. When you reach your shoulders, pick your shoulders up and drop them to give yourself a little bit of relaxation there with your shoulders.

You can hear the wind is picking up now. It's just something to be aware of, what we can hear. Travelling down the arms to the, to the elbows, to the forearms, your fingers, wiggle all your fingers. Coming back up your arms to your elbows. Coming back up to your shoulders and coming down to your heart. And put your hand on your heart and just check to see, is it beating fast, is it beating slow?

Get in tune with the rhythm of your heart. Coming down to where your lungs are. So imagine them filling up with all this lovely fresh air. [00:12:00] Exhaling. So you're inhaling fresh air and exhaling any negativity. Coming down to your tummy. Just let your tummy go. Just let it hang out. So it's an over the ear to see.

Down to your hips and your pelvis. And at this point you might want to just bend your knees a little bit, just in case they're locked. Rock backwards and forwards on your feet, just to ensure that you're still grounded. So you can then come down the tops of your thighs, back of your thighs, to your knees.

To your shins, calves, right the way down to your feet. And just make sure you're fully grounded. And another three deep breaths in.

And then when you're ready, open your eyes.[00:13:00] 

After we've done the body scan, it's now time to bring the horse or pony into the equation. And, um, we, we go back to the stables and choose a horse or pony to work with. We take the client, um, and the equine into the, into the actual school. And it's at this stage, I probably would be talking to the client a little bit about, you know, making them aware of their energy, the energy that they're projecting.

Um, and also to be respectful of, uh, the horse's energy. And, you know, the horse has quite a wide circle of energy around, around him or her. So it's just kind of making the client aware of that. And this is really where the counselling session takes [00:14:00] place. This is just a case of walking with the horse or sometimes it's a case of incorporating very small exercises into the actual counselling session.

If there's an issue or a problem we will often get the client to take the horse or pony into a box which we can um, layout on the ground in the school and, you know, that can signify where their head is at when they're in that issue. They take the horse actually then into that, into the little, um, box that we've created with poles on the ground.

And this really, you know, standing next to the horse getting, getting the client to, to focus on the issue and talk about the issue, is really where it gets the bond going with the horse or pony. And I often find that to start with in the sessions, my, my clients will talk, um, to [00:15:00] the horse, the horse is involved in the conversation.

And when you see this happening, you know, you can see the reaction from the horse wanting to, to, to engage. Um, And this, this could be simple as them moving closer to the client or, you know, at this stage, the client could be stroking the horse, um, becoming physically a lot closer to the horse and the horse will be picking up on their, on their emotions.

So all these things are kind of taken into the equation. It's all done as well, um, in a very kind of, you know, safety, um, aware environment. My role in all of this, as well as being a counsellor, is to be observant of how, how the horse is reacting. And in most, uh, most cases, the horse or pony will give comfort, uh, to the [00:16:00] client.

Some cases, um, a client has requested just to have quiet time with, with the horse or pony, just to kind of, like, be left. on their own in a corner of the school. And this is often just to process emotions. So sometimes the process actually happens in silence with the horse. The body scan, which I included, this is done in a field with some, um, therapists.

So they will take the client into the field with the horses, with a herd of horses and do a body scan in there. I've done that with clients in the past and it's interesting to see which horses come over and join you. Of course, bear in mind that, you know, the horse is tuning into the way that we're breathing and also to our heartbeat.

And they're really trying to work out where we fit in the [00:17:00] herd. So they're naturally curious as to what is going on in this process. I'm not going to go through every single exercise, um, that we do with the horses or the ponies. I'm just going to say that I feel that When I'm in a school with a horse and a client, what happens there does feel a very natural process for me to be part of.

And I can see how it, I can see how it works. So really, I suppose what I'm saying is you've got to see it or experience it to believe it. But I hope this B side gives you a bit of a snapshot as to how I work, I can't really cover every single element, um, but I think what I've covered are the most important areas.

If somebody wants to engage with an equine [00:18:00] practitioner or equine assisted learning practitioner, the company that I trained with, an organization called Leap, they have a really good website where you can go and work out who is which therapist is closest to you in the UK. And, um, yeah, so just go to the LEAP, the LEAP equine learning or equine therapy website.

And you'll, you'll find the different types of therapists that are available for people that work with horses. So thank you for listening. And if you do want to get in touch with me, I'm Alex Sculland and my company name is Contented People, and I work out of Silver Birch Animal Therapy Farm.

Nadine: Thanks so much to Alex for taking [00:19:00] us through what it's like to come for some equine therapy at Silver Birch. If you would like to. drop Alex a message, or indeed drop me a message, don't forget you can find the fan mail link at the bottom of the show notes. It says send me a text message. If you want to send a message to Alex, then by all means click that.

It will come to me, but I will make sure Alex gets it. Okay, until next time, see you.