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The Sacred Place of Possibility website has a calendar function!   Find out where Kathleen will be teaching - and workshop details- with one click: Calendar
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 Kathleen in Jersey

Kathleen and her colleagues can help you look at possibilities and turn them

into probabilities that will

enrich and enhance your professional and personal life.


Would you like to obtain knowledge and clarity? Take the step to where you are no longer just surviving but THRIVING!


Contact Kathleen!

"The Way of the Horse"

"The Way of the Horse,"
a Horse Spirit Connections interview with Kathleen Ingram

Program for Returning Vets

 

Kathleen is Co-Creator, 

Mental Health and PTSD consultant for IFEAL's "Dare to Live" programme.

  

"I have never been a  
horse person, but this brings you out of that depression
and loss, and shows you
that 
all is not lost"

 

~Adam, Dare to Live Participant
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Missed a mailing? See the Archives for valuable and insightful data about this exciting field of Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL).

 


Where the Learning Happens
Working with what is actually happening in an EFL session can be a challenge for those of us trained in the discipline. We might have so many ideas of what could or should happen that we get in the way of the relationship between the client and the horse. I suggest "checking your ego at the barn door."

If we are able to constantly use our own body as a "sensing device" and to suspend our judgments, personal agendas, and ideas we can hold the sacred space for true connection and change to happen for the horse and the client. This takes commitment to your personal growth as well as learning more about how relationship happens and learning how to be in collaboration with the horse. Sound simple---it's not!
Applause and Corey

Corey DeMala is my mentorship student who lives and works in New York State. She is an accomplished equestrian and horse trainer. She is also a licensed mental health counselor and runs a successful EFL practice working with young people, adults, and couples (www.CoreyDemala.com). Corey says that her natural ability to relate to horses began as early as age 7.  She would find herself in the barn with the horses in the middle of a snow storm to be with them so she wouldn't get stuck in the house. She got her "dream job" as a horse trainer but soon learned this was not for her because the relationship with the horse was missing. 


Corey then decided to enter graduate school for counseling in 2008 and sought out training programs to combine her two loves and skills. She heard me speak with Jennifer Oikle in her symposium in 2013 and said she felt I may have the missing pieces to help her refine her practice. (For more information about Jennifer's 2014 offerings check out: Listen & Learn: The 2014 Tele-Summit in March and join Jennifer during the Festival & Symposium May 16-18, 2014 in Denver, CO. I will be presenting at the symposium in person this year (www.HealingWithHorse.com)).

My mentorship and coaching students are required to do practice sessions with their clients and to write them up for our bi-monthly discussions and review. Following are two sessions that Corey conducted with her clients during the cold wintery days of December and January. They are examples of working with the weather, the client, and the horse with grace and simplicity.

"Carrie" is a 65 year old retired school counselor who came to me to because she wanted to learn to ride and be with horses, but was "terrified" of them.   She found me online at Psychology Today, looking for a way to work through her fears of horses and other things in her life, especially during this time of transition. I have been working with "Carrie" for about 10 sessions, spread out over several months' time.  She also came to our retreat in November.  This client works with Applause, a 27 year old Morgan gelding who is an incredible healer.   Throughout the sessions, "Carrie" has become increasingly more comfortable being around the horses.  We begin all sessions with a body scan and check in about her arousal level.  At first, this was often between a 7-8 and we have been working on breath work, grounding and slowing things down.  Slowing down has been a big piece of our work.  More recently, she often reports a 3-4 and it is often excitement rather than anxiety. 

 

We always begin with a check in/body scan and breath work.  (She is an experienced meditator).  She then proceeded to groom the horse, paying attention to any shifts in her or the horse.  Her arousal level was her now usual 3-4, with some excitement just to be here.  Often, picking the hind feet is a struggle.  This session, the client got to the hind legs and the horse would not pick up the right hind.  I had to remind myself to keep myself grounded and allow for whatever needed to happen.  She tried for a bit and then got frustrated and reported she wanted to give up.  We discussed what might need to change in order for him to pick up his leg.  We discussed how it is important to pick out his feet and how sometimes we need to be more assertive with our needs, for our own good and the good of those in our care.  This is a big issue for her, as she has discussed struggling to say no and then being overwhelmed. 

 

I asked her to step back and take some deep breaths and tell me what she was feeling.  She scanned her body and emotions and then started to cry a bit.  I asked what was coming up for her.  She said, as she was standing by the horse's hind end, that she was angry.  She went on to describe how she was angry at those in her life who she doesn't stand up to.  As she said the word "angry" the horse literally started to lick and chew, dropped his head and picked up that right hind and just rested it.  She didn't notice at first, but then I asked her what the horse was doing.  We then discussed what changed in her?  She said she was able to admit to being angry, to discuss what boundaries had been crossed and how she could better maintain her boundaries for the good of all in the various relationships.  We then discussed how she could try again and sure enough that horse picked his leg right up when she was finally congruent.  The nugget she took away was that she needed to honor her anger, not stuff it and use the information it provided, i.e. boundaries, to help better her relationships with herself and others. 

 

Following this session, she spent a good hour in the freezing barn to journal with the horse. 

 

It was a great lesson for me in trusting the process and staying grounded, not trying to get the horse to pick up his leg.  It is hard for me to watch clients struggle, but it is so often where the learning happens.

 

Corey said that she also learned that it is not about constructing extravagant exercises but using the simple ones like grooming and leading that often lead to most lasting outcomes for clients. She has been training horses for over 20 years and she wonders sometimes, "Do I have to work with horses in some incredible way or can I just let the simple tasks and experiences with the horse be the teacher?"

Following is another one of Corey's sessions.

Another session with Applause was a young client using the leading exercise and feeling the energy of Applause through the lead rope. He held the lead rope and used his energy through the lead rope to connect and communicate with the horse. Corey gave her client the lead rope to take home and use like "prayer beads" every morning before school to ground him and get him ready for the day. She is taking the "felt experience" he had with the horse and applying it to his daily life outside of the session. He was not going to school and so she set up an obstacle course from home to school with Applause for him to choose his own path and find his own way to school. Corey said that he is now going to school and remembering his sessions with Applause as an anchor to ground and support himself.

Remember that these two sessions were done during a very cold time of year and are examples of taking the elements and the horse's and clients needs into consideration when conducting a session.

Are you interested in a mentorship?  I am now taking applications for long distance mentorships for 2014.
  

 

Many blessings, 

 

signature  

 

Kathleen Barry Ingram

February, 2014

 

 

www.SacredPlaceofPossibility.com 

Where is Kathleen in 2014?
Australia
March 7 - 9, 2014: The Way of the Horse Conference, Australia

 

Join Kathleen at The Way of the Horse Conference in Austrailia. Morning presentations at the conference center will range in topic from an introduction to the Equine Psychotherapy  Australia Model to Working With Trauma in EAP, Detox/ Addiction Recovery with EAP Programs,  EAP and Working with Metaphor in Sessions, EAL with Corporate Groups and more. After a buffet lunch participants will enjoy afternoons with the Equine Psychotherapy Australia herd, including individual, group and specialist demonstrations and live sessions.
 
Cost: $470 (Australian)
Click here for more information and to register .
March 10, 2014: Masterclass with Kathleen, Australia

 

Stay one more day for a masterclass with Kathleen on 'Holding Sacred Space of Possibility' in Equine Facilitated Learning and Therapy Sessions: Working with Brain-body Connection. The workshop will include morning classroom sessions at the conference facilities, buffet lunch, then coach transport to EPA for equine  experiential demonstrations in the afternoon. 
 
  
Cost: Conference and Workshop $720 (Australian)
Click here for more information and to register.
UK

March 31-April 2, 2014:  Zone of Intuitive Knowing, UK

 

In its 5th year, this groundbreaking workshop is again facilitated by Kathleen, Sun Tui and the IFEAL Herd in East Sussex, England.  

 

The Zone of Intuitive Knowing is a radical program for people interested in the science of the subtle energetic and physiological connections between all of life.  It is thought that all beings exist as a unity, inter-dependent in relationship with all, in an invisible web of a quantum field.  Horses, as consummate teachers, can show us how to develop this regenerative knowing - to rediscover and reconnect to the unlimited power of the unified source.

 

This program includes experiential opportunities with the horses that engage our innate abilities to use the body as a tool for self knowledge and perception for health and well being.

  

Click here for more information and to register.  

Arizona

April 25-27, 2014: Horse and Human Consciousness, Arivaca, AZ

  

Horse and Human Consciousness will be facilitated by Kathleen, Tina Suaso,PhD and the horses at Equinox Ranch.  

 

This workshop is for people interested in their own conscious growth through work with horses in nature. Through exercises with horses, drumming, and guided meditations we will uncover, discover, and deeply understand the subtle energetic connections between all sentient beings.  The horses can help you to better understand your emotions and the messages behind these emotions.  

 

You will get the opportunity to get to know your own boundaries and to experience and feel your boundaries in a whole new way with humans and horses.  Specific exercises are designed to help you learn more about your body's innate wisdom and the body language of others.

  • Learn how to be more authentic in all of your relationships and live in the present moment
  • Learn more about your survival patterns and beliefs and coping strategies
  • Learn how to be congruent in all of your interactions by engaging with horses
  • Learn from the horses how to use emotions as information

This is a non riding workshop. This workshop can be used as a qualifying workshop for Kathleen's Mentorship Program

 

Cost: $770, includes lodging and meals.

 

Registration can be made through Desert Milagros by calling 520-531-1040. Please register by April 12th to reserve your spot in the workshop. Space is limited.  A deposit of $250 is required to hold your place.

 

Click here for more information. 

Colorado
May 15, 2014 : Pre- Symposium Workshop, Denver, CO

 

Arrive early to join Kathleen for a 1 day workshop, Relationship-In-Motion: Balancing Head, Heart & Hara for Powerful Outcomes

 

Click here for more information. 

 

May 16 - 18, 2014: Healing with Horse Symposium, Denver, CO

 

Kathleen is the creator of the phrase "The Sacred Place of Possibility," which refers to an important concept in Equine Facilitated Learning, regarding setting the container for transformation. Join Kathleen and her EFL colleagues in May as Kathleen headlines the Gather & Empower your Practice: The Festival & Symposium.  

 

Click here for more information. 

 

UK

September 29 - October 1, 2014:  Zone of Intuitive Knowing, UK

 

Once a year is not enough!  In its 5th year, this groundbreaking workshop is again facilitated by Kathleen, Sun Tui and the IFEAL Herd in East Sussex, England.  

 

The Zone of Intuitive Knowing is a radical program for people interested in the science of the subtle energetic and physiological connections between all of life.  It is thought that all beings exist as a unity, inter-dependent in relationship with all, in an invisible web of a quantum field.  Horses, as consummate teachers, can show us how to develop this regenerative knowing - to rediscover and reconnect to the unlimited power of the unified source.

 

This program includes experiential opportunities with the horses that engage our innate abilities to use the body as a tool for self knowledge and perception for health and well being.

  

Click here for more information and to register.  

October 6 - 10, 2014: Equine Assisted Qualifications (FTP 01 module 2): Facilitator Training Program, UK

 

IFEAL Qualifications for Equine Facilitated Human Development and Learning is an interdisciplinary vocational education for medical and mental health professionals, educators, equine professionals, health and well-being practitioners and all business professionals who want to professionally master the art of employing horses in the field of human development.

 

Click here for more information and to register.  

Tele-Conferences

 FEEL Training

 

Kathleen will continue to teach the "foundational pieces" from psychotherapy, science, and spirituality to the FEEL students at Horse Spirit Connections.  Wendy Golding and Andre Leclipteux co-founders of the FEEL training program have been searching for better ways to utilize Kathleen's knowledge, skills, and experience while reaching a larger audience.   Kathleen will be teaching both current students and FEEL Alumni Graduates through a series of tele-conferences -the latest research on relationships, personal growth and development, and it's  application with the horses.

  

FEEL is a leading-edge modality for developing human potential.  Participants learn to create a horse-centered, experiential learning environment that supports personal growth.  Throughout the training, prospective FEEL facilitators gain self-knowledge and acquire skills and experience to develop their own FEEL programs where horses are valued for their roles as teachers and therapists.

 

This comprehensive training program is suitable for coaches, educators, counselors, facilitators, equine professionals, wellness practitioners, and other individuals who are looking for practical training and experience in developing Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning programs in the expanding field of Equine guided healing.

 

Click here for more information and to register.