About Sara’s approach in Facilitation of Groups & Workshops

Sara’s approach is an integration of traditional approaches (including ACT, Mindfulness Integrated CBT and Narrative Therapy) with Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. These are experiential ‘doing’ therapies, which use sensory and non-verbal pathways to growth and healing, where you are guided to explore and discover your capacities and strenths. They support increasing capacity for empowerment, mastery, confidence, resilience, connection and psychological flexibility. They offer gentle opportunities to become more aware of, and explore, any old unhelpful patterns of thinking and responding to life’s challenges. So you can develop new prefered ways of being, connecting and living.

Nature-Based Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy fit so well together to offer safe and supported opportunities towards greater:

Self-regulation

  • Experiencing the tranquillity offered in nature

  • Self-regulation through curiously engaging with all the senses

  • Movement, rhythm, drumming, breath and grounding activities

  • Regulation from art making process, vocalising, storytelling

  • Tactile, touching and sensory activities with horses and nature

  • Connecting with nature through deeper mindful observation and curiosity

  • Noticing our bodily responses to stress

  • If horses are present - Observing how horses express and release feelings, and self-regulate

Self regulation through nature based therapy

Co-regulation

  • From direct presence of and physical contact with Nature (and horses if they are present)

  • Art, story-telling, vocalising, movement, rhythm and drumming

  • Synchrony and non-verbal attunement with others and Nature

  • Nature offers us symbols of freedom, sensitivity, expression, beauty and strength

Co-regulation through natuer based therapy

Exploration

  • Experiencing what a calm body feels like

  • New ways (without words) to express and release feelings and thoughts through expressive arts

  • Observing how other beings in Nature live in present moment awareness

  • Present moment awareness of self, others and ourselves in the world

  • Safely exploring and understanding sensations, feelings, thoughts and response patterns

  • Exploring relationship in non-judgmental, authentic connection with a horse

  • Horses can also evoke strong hidden feelings and emotions in us that can be explored

  • Observing relationships, clarity of communication, support and boundary setting in the herd

  • Experimenting and problem solving

Restoration / Growth / Mastery

  • Trying new ways of being and responding

  • Trying out more flexible ways of relating and connecting in meaningful relationships

  • Understanding our nervous system and bodily stress responses, and ways to regulate

  • Growing in confidence, self-compassion, self-advocacy and boundary setting

  • Connecting with playfulness and joy and feeling more ‘enlivened’

  • Thinking and acting in more flexible ways