Services at Healing Hooves Include:
- Individual and Family Counselling
- Parent Consulting
- Group Counselling and Summer Camps
- Personal Development/ Personal Growth Workshops
- Corporate Team Building and Professional Development
- Professional Training Workshops
- Resources for Professionals and Parents
- Therapeutic Children's Stories
Individual and Family Counselling
Over more than ten years Healing Hooves has helped hundreds of people of all ages claim back their lives and rebuild relationships, including:- Families struggling with role and relationship issues
- Children, youth and women who have witnessed and/ or experienced violence and abuse
- Children and women who have been sexually abused or exploited
- Individuals struggling with anxiety or depression
- Youth who are actively self harming or suicidal
- Adolescents and women struggling with eating disorders
- Individuals with low self esteem
- Adults wishing explore personal growth and development
- Adults wishing to heal from past trauma and relationship struggles
- Children and youth struggling with aggression and at risk of perpetrating violence
- Youth who are struggling with addictions
- And many more.
Referral Process
To make a referral or enquire about individual or family counseling contact us at (403) 637 2053 or by email sue@healinghooves.caFunding
Healing Hooves is fully funded as an approved service provider with Calgary and Area Child and Family Services, Central Alberta Child and Family Services and McMan Youth, Family and Community Services Association. Funding is also available through FSCD (Family Support for Children with Disabilities) Mountain View FCSS, Olds Neighbourhood Place and some private insurance plans.Parent Consulting
Sue McIntosh provides parent consulting and support to parents of individual clients and to parents separately (ie whether or not she is working with the child). Sue has completed intensive training with Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D. and is a graduate of Neufeld’s Facilitator Program (www.gordonneufeld.com). As such Sue is certified to facilitate Dr Neufeld's renowned "Power to Parent" group parenting courses,as well as a variety of other Neufeld courses.
Dr. Neufeld's approach has also been built into the Professional Training offered at Healing Hooves and the Therapeutic Children's Stories.
Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D. is a highly respected clinical psychologist with over 30 years of experience with children and those responsible for them. A foremost authority on child development, he is an international speaker, a bestselling author (Hold On To Your Kids), and a leading interpreter of the developmental paradigm. Sue incorporates many aspects of this paradigm into the programming and approach at Healing Hooves.
Personal Development Workshops
Come join us on a journey of personal discovery, development and growth with our team of two and four legged healers and guides. So often a day - or perhaps just a moment - with a horse can provide breakthroughs, insight and healing where years of more traditional work has not. We invite you to come experience the acceptance, rest, empathy and joy that so many others have told us they first felt in the presence of a horse.
Our Personal Development workshops focus on a wide range of themes tailored to the specific needs and goals of each group. These may include: Finding emotional rest, boundaries and assertiveness, leadership, dependency and needs, anxiety and alarm, feeling safe, frustration, emotional expression, and understanding sensitivity.
2012 Workshop Dates: May 26-27 and/ or July 28-29, 2012
Total Cost: $425 for one weekend, $750 for both, plus GST
Location: Healing Hooves, near Calgary, AB
Contact us at sue@healinghooves.ca to confirm availability and to request a registration form
Personal development is a requirement for certification with the National Association for Equine Facilitated Wellness (NAEFW). For more information on the other training opportunities at Healing Hooves please refer to our Workshops and Resources page.
Group Counselling and Summer Camps
Healing Hooves works with clients in group and summer camps for clients aged 6 to adult. This provides a powerful group dynamic which enhances the learning and healing process. Group counseling sessions are offered from April to June or September to November and will typically meet weekly for two hour sessions for six to 10 weeks. Camps are usually a week long and non residential. Group Counselling and Summer Camps focus on:- Attachment and Developmental Needs
- Resiliency
- Healing from Family Violence and Abuse
- Self Esteem
- Eating Disorders
- Boundaries and Empowerment
Equine Facilitated Professional Development ("EFPD")
If you think that horses are just for rounding up cattle and bucking off cowboys, you'd better think again. Finding yourself face to face - or possibly face to tail - with 1000lbs of horse during an Equine Facilitated Professional Development ("EFPD") workshop can teach you a lot more about yourself and your colleagues than you might think.EFPD is a hands-on approach to professional development which supports goals and initiatives in a non-threatening environment. Rather than just talking about topics or concerns, participants explore them experientially with specially trained horses. Carefully tailored EFPD exercises provide individuals and teams with motivation, insight and new approaches. The horses give participants immediate feedback on communication styles and problem solving approaches, revealing strengths and weaknesses as leaders and team members. They can show you what you need to change to achieve goals, improve performance and to gain the cooperation and respect of others.
Workshops typically comprise a variety of EFPD exercises which might include teams working together and communicating on a task with a horse, working through conflicting goals, or exploring issues of trust between team members. Other exercises might encourage lateral thinking or explore leadership styles. Each exercise is debriefed with participants by qualified facilitators.
Working with the horses is a fun and memorable experience - exploring professional development issues in an EFPD workshop allows you to build on existing strengths, explore challenges and find effective solutions - all within a non-threatening and fun environment.
Healing Hooves Corporate Experience
Prior to establishing Healing Hooves Sue McIntosh had ten years of experience working for major Management Consulting firms - most recently as a senior manager with KPMG, who she still works with on a contract basis. Sue has extensive business, analytical, management and client service experience. Responsibilities included project management, group facilitation and interviews, in organizations facing and undergoing change. Projects focused upon change and risk management, human resources, corporate governance, fraud investigation and environmental management. Sue has worked with clients in the UK, Switzerland, USA, and throughout Canada, leading project teams in excess of twenty professionals. With Healing Hooves Sue has provided EFPD services to a wide variety of corporations including Oil and Gas and Non Profit organizations.What Happens During an EFPD Workshop?
EFPD workshops are tailored to the specific needs and objectives of an organization,
group or corporation. Most workshops comprise a number of EFPD exercises
which might include teams working together and communicating on a task with
a horse, working through conflicting goals, or exploring issues of trust
between team members. Each exercise is debriefed with the team to identify
strengths and learnings. Much of what happens with the horses and within
teams during an EFPD exercise is a metaphor for other situations. In some
cases the learning can be most powerful and non-threatening if the debrief
is left in the metaphor, however in many cases the greatest value arises
when we transfer what is learned with the horses to similar situations in
the office or the boardroom. For example, if a team is struggling with communicating
clearly within itself or with its customers these dynamics will likely show
up clearly when that team is asked to move a horse through an obstacle horse
without a rope. Identifying what the team needs to do differently with the
horse can open the door to making similar changes back in the office. Similarly
when an organization is facing major change, employees may be grappling
with many difficult and challenging feelings and behaviours. A specifically
designed EFPD exercise which challenges the team to work through changing
parameters and uncertainties may help that team identify, explore and find
appropriate ways to address those feelings and behaviours.
Key Benefits of EFPD
Groups participating in EFPD workshops have noted the following benefits:- Improved communication within teams, across organizations, with customers and business partners
- Increased self awareness about communication or leadership styles, and impact on others
- Greater team cohesion, understanding and mutual respect
- Enhanced lateral thinking and problem solving ability
- Individuals and teams provided with motivation, insight and new approaches
- Immediate feedback on communication styles and problem solving approaches, revealing strengths and weaknesses as leaders and team members
- Shows you what you need to change to achieve goals, improve performance and to gain the cooperation and respect of others
- A non threatening and fun approach to address and explore real issues