Newport Academy Events

January 28 - January 30, 2010:
Exhibitor David E. Smith, M.D., FASAM, FAACT. Newport Academy upcoming 2009/2010 conference and event participation. La Jolla, CA, NATSAP.
February 5, 2010: Jeff Fortuna Dr. P.H. Fish Oil & Omega 3 Fatty acids in the Treatment of Psychiatric Syndromes. Medical Grand Rounds at St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, Ca.

April 16, 2010: Jeff Fortuna Dr. P.H. Sugar Addiction & the Sweet Tooth: Genetic Determinants in the Alcoholic Family. Adolescent & Young Adult Treatment Conference, for the US Journal Adolescent & Young Adult Treatment Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

April 16, 2010: Jeff Fortuna Dr. P.H. Basic Nutritional Guidelines for Adolescent Patients. Adolescent & Young Adult Treatment Conference, for the US Journal Adolescent & Young Adult Treatment Conference in Las Vegas.

April 17, 2010: Jeff Fortuna Dr. P.H. Street Drug Trends- 2010. Adolescent & Young Adult Treatment Conference, for the US Journal Adoelsecent & Young Adult Treatment Conference in Las Vegas.

Mickey K. Troxell, MS, CATC, CEAT II
Owner, CEO - Pegasus ECT, Centaur University
Costa Mesa, California
Equine Therapist, Newport Academy

My passion and love for horses began when I was a young girl, this connection [with horses] began before I was able to speak or walk.

My professional journey working with horses began when I studied Equine Assisted Psychotherapy under Greg Kersten, the Founder of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. Greg has set the standard in teaching techniques for working with horses to help humans.

The therapeutic value and benefit of working with horses is historically cited as long ago as 460BC in which Hippocrates spoke of [the] “healthy pace of the horse.”

Case Example - Equine Assisted Psychotherapy at Newport Academy, a Gender Specific Adolescent Facility in Orange, CA

A journey to redefine one precious life was guided and nurtured by Levi, a certified therapy horse, who bonded quickly with a young, depressed and withdrawn teenage girl named Suzanne (named changed to protect confidentiality). Levi quickly assessed this young girl’s disposition, her deep-seated need to stay disconnected from him and everyone else. Levi was patient and steadfast.

Suzanne knew that Levi was an abuse survivor, that prior to becoming a therapy horse he had been severely abused by his owners because of this knowledge, she experienced an initial bond or connection, that despite her desire to stay separated, caused her to move closer as she watched Levi interact with her peers. Horses like Levi intuitively know what people need to work on, usually before they do and he patiently works at their pace never intruding on their boundaries, never forcing them farther than they can go. Suzanne, while inclined to stay as removed as possible, found herself drawn to the process, but was terrified of revealing too much of herself. The damaged inner self that she had spent a lifetime building a wall around dictated that she stay a part from rather than a part of, as in all relational experiences since she was abused.

This experiential reasoning caused her to deny the trauma within, as well as her need to connect with others, and, as such, she fabricated even the most trivial occurrences about her life during the initial therapy sessions common amongst abuse survivors. Levi, the consummate professional, met Suzanne where she was at and worked with her at her pace and slowly exposed every detail of her fabrications, the depth of her denial, and her desperate need for recovery for the hurt she had experienced. It was mutual perseverance and stubbornness that brought Suzanne out of her internal prison. The young girl who didn’t want to bond bonded intensely and began her process of recovery through the spirit of the horse. Through Equine Therapy, Suzanne allowed herself to become vulnerable in order to grieve and heal from the debilitating wounds within.

Levi walked with Suzanne out of the dark solitude of a life of abuse into the Light of healing her transformation was awe inspiring her miracle began with a horse named, Levi.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy addresses a variety of mental health and human developmental needs including behavioral issues, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), substance abuse/chemical dependency, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, Autism, communication and relational issues, and has found much success in addressing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with veterans and others who have witnessed or have been subjected to traumatic events. At Pegasus ECT we work individually and in groups with adolescents, adults, veterans, at-risk youth, and Native Americans. We strive to utilize the latest advances in this field for the continued growth and recovery of our clients.

Utilizing EAP I work with individuals or in groups of 6-8. One of the most thought-provoking and engaging learning experiences for clients is conducted in a group where the clients are placed in two teams and given one instruction to take the horse(s) through a series of exercises, utilizing only a lead and each other within the confines of the corral without verbal communication.

In this exercise clients learn the following: a) how to consciously communicate with one another and the horse(s) non-verbally; b) while there is only one instruction, its limitations are either stifling or liberating, depending upon the individual and collective perceptions of the participants; and, c) the arena, the horse, and the people in it are all part of the same team (collective consciousness) even when divided. This experience is tangible and it resonates in the lives of the participants and is forever branded into their experience it’s all about perspective in and/or out of the corral; in and/or out of disorder, dysfunction or disease; in and/or out of the experiential reasoning that human beings are forever bound to. The experience of Equine Therapy is miraculous and dynamic in its therapeutic value to the individuals who engage in its awesome, healing power.

A former client’s perspective - Equine therapy was a foreign concept to me when I arrived at the stables for the first time. I couldn’t imagine how a horse could supplement the traditional forms of therapy I’d been engaged in throughout my life.

Psychiatrists, counseling, group therapy, etc.I had been searching for something to sort out the roots of my dysfunctional behavior and addiction for years. It was only by chance (or design?) that I ended up working with Mickey and the time I spent with her and the horse impacted me in ways that I couldn’t have anticipated. What I learned about myself and the work I needed to do in a few hours was profound compared to my experience of many months of therapy in past counseling endeavors. The exercises we did and its relevance to my life inspired an awareness and clarity about the road ahead of me, the process of recovery, and developed within me an amazing willingness that I had never felt before.

Horses have an ability to read people and their body language which works in conjunction with equine therapists who assess the client’s personality/needs/issues based on the horse’s responses to [the client's] energy, movement, and non-verbal cues. Mickey’s translation of my behavior and the decision-making process I engage in (in and out of the corral), became a microcosm for my life. There are unhealthy or dysfunctional aspects of my personality that dictate how I behave in situations, these responses are so ingrained in my psyche that I have, in the past, chosen to be oblivious to because change seemed like such a monumental, arduous task.

Engaging with a horse, who is by nature intuitive and responsive, provided me with an interactive ability to view and assess my interactions with people. For example, there are things I do on a daily basis during introductions and engagements with people that I had never recognized as choices I make - watching the horse mirror my energy coupled with Mickey’s observation and insight about my responses, forced me to acknowledge behavioral patterns that were adversely affecting my life main example: shutting down emotionally, mentally, psychologically, and spiritually when I feel intimidated. It is difficult to deny that you act a certain way or to manipulate your interpretation of your behavior after it has been witnessed and discussed in the forum of change that the corral became for me. Mickey was able to describe what she saw and use the experience with the horse as a metaphor for daily struggles I experienced.

Equine therapy is an experiential alternative to interactive group therapy. It is an opportunity to recognize and practice different ways of responding to situations without the fear of judgment that interferes with growth. In addition to building my awareness about what was limiting my success in different areas of my life (i.e., that my perceptions are often skewed; that reservations limit my options; and, that only by confronting my fears can I acquire a rational outlook on life and develop effective, healthy coping skills to live life on life’s terms), I developed a new way to approach situations that used to baffle me. The equine therapy exercises that I participated in strengthened my confidence and gave me a newfound willingness to begin working on overcoming these limitations.

Mickey says that people often react to people and places the way they do because of a perceived lack of options. I, like many people, tend to confine myself between the proverbial rock and a hard place because I don’t allow myself to see that I have multiple choices in most situations.
Through the process of equine therapy and the introspection it spurred within me, I learned that I have a tendency to focus on what I can’t do, rather than what I can. The enormity of this realization freed me from a deeply-rooted internal prison I didn’t even know I was in. This “ah ha!” moment, this perceptual shift, afforded me a life-altering freedom I am grateful for.

Equine therapy addressed my perceived limitations based on past experiential reasoning more directly and dramatically than anything I had or have ever experienced. I learned unequivocally that most of my fears are irrational and that the most effective way to overcome fear is to walk through it not around it, over it, or under it through it. By acknowledging this realization on a daily basis and moving through my fears, my self-efficacy is developing and increasing.

Now this may seem like common sense to many people but it isn’t to someone like me. This simple exercise with the horse which had an outcome I couldn’t foresee provided tangible evidence of my faulty thinking and how it prevents me from taking risks on a daily basis. Most importantly, it gave me the faith I desperately needed to trust that, contrary to my beliefs, outcomes just may turn out to be positive, and that [taking] risks is the only way to experience this faith and the potential of changed outcomes. Today I approach situations I used to view as obstacles as opportunities to overcome my fears and grow.

Let the Spirit of the
Horse lift you up!