HEAL graduate Polly Burns, MA, UKCP is an experienced integrative psychotherapist and trainer. Having gained a diploma in Humanistic Therapy Polly went on to train at the Institute for the Arts in Therapy and Education in London and was awarded a Masters Degree with distinction in Integrative Child Psychotherapy.  With a background in community arts and natural horsemanship, Polly combines all these elements in her therapy practice and the training courses and retreats she facilitates.

Qualifications:

• Masters Degree Integrative Child Psychotherapy  
• Diploma Humanistic Therapy
• Certificate Therapeutic Application of the Arts
• Theraplay Intermediate Level
• E.A.G.A.L.A level one
• Somatic Trauma Therapy
• Retreat facilitator
• UKCP registered

'The HEAL Facilitator Training Program has enabled me to bring together my  passions for horses, body based therapy, the arts, and spirituality. It is a privilege and joy to work with Leigh and David, and re-assuring to find a program rooted in robust scientific research, yet still able to embrace the mystery of what it means to be human. I am already seeing just what an effect this way of working can have with my clients.'

For this client, as with other case illustrations in this manual, I have changed the name and the session details to protect the privacy of the client. It is my intention to represent such illustrations accurately without disclosing any personal information pertaining to an actual client.

At the time of her treatment Tina's symptoms were acute and overlapped with the developmental demands of an intensely dynamic life stage - puberty.   Her sense of safety and worth seriously compromised by abuse, Tina lacked the building blocks for neurosequential personality development and social success. Tina was falling behind her peers in many ways. The goal of our group treatment was to provide targeted, vivid experiences that would readily internalize as resources and skills.

The First Key: Body-Based Awareness

In the first session of our PTSD group, we educated the group of adolescent girls about Key One, and the importance of tuning in to their own senses and feelings, for safety with the horses. Tina's level of anxious arousal was obviously outside of her 'window of tolerance'. While the other girls participated in the group discussion and got to know each other on breaks, Tina curled into herself, arms crossed around her middle. Tina wouldn't speak to us and ignored our directives for group activities. Our team's attempts to engage her only made her sullen. I wondered that first day if Tina would be able to keep up with the group as the horse activities became more complex.

After the classroom activity, participants went out to "meet the herd"- assigned with tracking their subjective "activation" level (activation with either positive or negative responsive feelings) as they met six horses (separated in individual paddocks). When the girls met the horses from across a fence (no touching, yet), it was apparent that Beau was drawn to Tina. Tina did not move on to meet other horses, but stood frozen as if soaking up Beau's penetrating gaze (Beau ignored every girl but Tina). The emotional resonance was palpable. Tina denied feeling anything, but when the other girls gently teased her: He liked you! Tina suppressed a slight smile and determinedly kept her eyes downward. I considered this mutual attraction (resonance) as I planned to pair each girl with a horse. Beau is our most rambunctious horse, and Tina the most fragile client in this group, nonetheless I decided to trust the horse and I paired Beau with Tina for the remaining weeks of group sessions....

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