Having proven our work in prisons, we have now established a busy community-based HQ near Weymouth, Dorset, UK. Employing 3 facilitators and 8 horses, we work primarily with young people 8-24yrs old and families, with an additional project working with drug & alcohol misuse.
Eleven facilitators so far are trained and approved to replicate our method and we are working hard to support them in setting up their own centres around the UK, with funding being the greatest hurdle.
TheHorseCourse ReStart
In Dorset, we provide our intensive ReStart programme to 150+ people each year, for free, referred by Schools & PRUs, Children's Services, NHS Mental Health Services, Troubled Families, Offender Services and other specialist agencies (such as charities working with Domestic Violence or D&A).
Our Gloucester centre is getting busy, working with similar cohorts. Centres will soon open in Barnet, North London, Wiltshire and Surrey.
Our participants have serious problems – typically more than four from the list below. And they are referred because they are ‘stuck’ or disengaged from talk-based support. We teach, rehearse and repeat key resilience skills in an intensive and challenging, but fun, 5 day course with feedback in-the-moment from specially trained horses and 1-to-1 facilitator support.
- ADHD
- ASD
- anxiety diagnosis
- not attending school (training, work)
- relationship difficulties
- mood swings/impulsivity
- highly disengaged
- self harm
- bullying, aggression, anger management issues
- being bullied
- risk taking behavior
- drug & alcohol misuse
- eating disorder
- offending
- domestic violence
- neglect / abuse
- poor parenting
- parents with mental health problems, offending or D&A
- living in care or leaving care
- from area of high deprivation
Outcomes
We are held up as an exemplar in our approach to evidencing the outcomes of our work (see evidence).A recent report published by NPC & CLINKS and peer reviewed by CSAAP (the academic panel at the Ministry of Justice) showed a 27 % point reduction in reoffending (where 10% is large).
A study by Bournemouth University is tracking the outcomes for our young people post-course at 2 months and 12 months and early results show that 80%+:
- are less anxious (with 33% average improvement)
- have reduced problem behaviours,
- improved attendance/engagement at school
- better relationships
- increased self belief
Non-verbals
We also offer a half-day training in our specialism, non-verbal behavior change, for frontline professionals.
To refer
Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.g for referral and consent forms.
