On the Back of a Horse: Harnessing the Healing Power of the Human-Equine Bond - Hardcover

by Claire Dorotik Ma (Author)

Claire Dorotik grew up riding, training, and loving horses, and in many ways understood horses before she understood people. While at the time her equine companions provided her tremendous solace, it was not until she entered her graduate program for psychology, and suffered her own intense personal trauma that the amazing way in which horses heal people was actually realized.

ON THE BACK OF A HORSE: Harnessing The Healing Power Of The Human- Equine Bond is an entrance into the spiritual world of horses, the devastation of raw human trauma, and the equine facilitated psychotherapy that can help heal it. Using narrative interviews and case studies of equine experts and psychology researchers, the reader is given entrance into the world of equine facilitated psychotherapy, and in doing so, taken on an epic journey to discover how it is that these magical creatures understand so much more about human trauma than we ourselves do. Using dramatic scenes, ON THE BACK OF A HORSE, gives the reader an understanding of just how people experience trauma, and why. What also emerges is an understanding of what horses do that, in many ways, prevents them from experiencing trauma as people do. While human fallacies illuminate themselves, and the debilitating effects of trauma become evident, the reader is bolstered by examples of equine communication, bonding and emotional expression, providing a beautiful example of just how these amazing creatures can help people overcome trauma.

Author Biography

Claire Dorotik's specialization is equine-facilitated psychotherapy. Her approach has been utilized by many recovery centers, including Creative Care Recovery and The Canyon Recovery Center. She has written many articles for Horsetrader, Ride, and Flying Changes magazines and is a contributor to Equine Therapy: Straight Talk From The Horse's Mouth currently offered by Zur Institute in San Diego. She lives in Colorado.