Author Archives: Marie

We Need Volunteers

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In order to run this camp we will need 15-20 volunteers. We need at least three horse staff. Our training will take place on August 3-5, 2012, with arrival on Friday, 2 August 2012. Volunteers will stay at the camp for the whole time. The training is mandatory if you would like to volunteer. There are certain protocols that need to be followed with these children. Camp will run smoothly if everyone is on the same page.

Training may count at CEUs for a number of professional organizations. Please contact us for more information.

Camp runs between 6-12 August 2012. Most people leave the afternoon of the 12th August. It is a busy, but rewarding and at times hilarious adventure.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Marie Sherwood at Marie@SoulHarmonyInc.com.

Equine Therapists – Our Horses

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Our horses will be an important part of the camp for all involved. We will have Equine Assisted Counseling working in conjunction with Marie Sherwood and Nancy Thomas. We will be scheduling work with the whole family and individuals; both kids and adults.

We will also be running a horsemanship program for our non-RAD kids. We will be using the Certified Horsemanship Association program. Marie Sherwood is a certified Level II instructor and will be leading us in this program.

Let me introduce you to our Equine Therapists, better known as our horses:

Wanuskewin Miyamac

Wanuskewin Miyamac, better known as Mac, is our gentle giant who is close to 17 hh. He is a Percheron Curly cross that is so easy going. He came to us at his dam’s side when he was six weeks old and so has grown up with us. He asks people to be as gentle as he is, then he will follow you everywhere.

Warrior Mead’s Two Feathers

Warrior Mead’s Two Feathers or just Two Feathers for short, is our gorgeous sorrel Curly mare who is also a direct descendent of Chief Sitting Bull’s herd. Her name carries a special importance. She represents a second level warrior. These native warriors were only given these positions once they were true to themselves. She likes to teach this lesson to her humans. She is a kind and gentle mare.

Stag Creek Sally Express

Salome (barn name) is a wonderfully tall big Curly mare who is so gentle and sweet. You will fall in love with her sensitivity. She steps lightly around little ones which is alot to say of her 16.2hh frame. She will work very well with our older RAD children who need a strong, but delicate hand.

Stag Creek Etoile Warrior

Etoile made her debut as a yearling at our first camp in 2007. She arrived in the herd and was bitten up pretty badly the first night. As she was taken around to meet the children, many were taken by how sweet she was eventhough she had been treated so badly. Her sweet Curly personality, but tough limits will be of great benefit in our program. She is green and will not be taking part in the riding portion of the program, but will “speak” to us within the family therapy.

H Creek’s Q Chip Nutmeg

Ahava (barn name) was a star for her first camp in 2009. She would stand so still for the children that were scared, closing her eyes as if to tell them everything was going to be alright. Her intuition is part of the curly breed’s ability to help heal all our children.

Annie’s Curly Q

Matuna (barn name) is a seasoned gaited mare. She does a beautiful running walk that is comfortable for the novice rider. The gait also helps children’s brains heal. She is unflapable and intuitive and knows when and how to bond with her human friends.

We will consider bringing other horses, but this is our starring line up.

Misty and ten year old

Our Professionals

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Nancy Thomas

We will have a number of professionals coming to our camp. This will be an official Nancy Thomas Family Camp. Please see Nancy’s website: www.attachment.org. Nancy has had over thirty years experience with challenging children. She has had great success. She runs Family Camps all over the world and we are privileged to have her come to the only Canadian camp. Our camps deal with difficult children of all levels, in addition to children that have an alphabet soup of diagnosis.

Counselors

We will have a number of licensed therapists on staff to support the work Nancy Thomas is doing. As we get closer to the camp date, I will be listing more information.

Marie Sherwood

Marie Sherwood, MS is a Licensed Therapist and Certified Advanced Parenting Trainer through Families by Design and has studied extensively under Nancy Thomas. She has been director of three family camps and equine director at three camps; Shalom Camp 2012 will be her fifth time acting as our director. She has nineteen years experience with difficult kids and is the mother of a healed RAD child. In short, she understands your situation. She is also a PhD candidate in Psychology working toward becoming an Attachment and Trauma Psychologist. She also is in private practice.

Training for Equine Professionals

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Long Faces and Happy Hearts Equestrian Centre is proud to sponsor Equine Facilitated Dyadic Bonding Course. This course has two parts. First, training will start with Dyadic Development Psychotherapy (DDP) Course in Yorkton, SK. Secondly, training will continue with horse and families in a seven day in vivo program at Radical Attachment Camp. DDP is an empirically proven method that will allow you to add an important element to your counselling.

What is Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy?

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is a treatment approach for families that have children with symptoms of emotional disorders, including Complex Trauma and disorders of attachment. It was originally developed by psychologist Daniel Hughes as an intervention for children whose emotional distress resulted from earlier separation from familiar caregivers. Marie Sherwood, Camp Director and Course Instructor, is trained by Dr. Daniel Hughes.  Hughes cites attachment theory and particularly the work of John Bowlby as theoretical motivations for dyadic developmental psychotherapy. However, other sources for this approach may include the work of Stern, who referred to the attunement of parents to infants’ communication of emotion and needs, and of Tronick, who discussed the process of communicative mismatch and repair, in which parent and infant make repeated efforts until communication is successful.

Dyadic developmental therapy principally involves creating a “playful, accepting, curious, and empathic” environment in which the therapist attunes to the child’s “subjective experiences” and reflects this back to the child by means of eye contact, facial expressions, gestures and movements, voice tone, timing and touch, “co-regulates” emotional affect and “co-constructs” an alternative autobiographical narrative with the child. This reflection is amplified when the horse is added to the dynamic. Dyadic developmental psychotherapy also makes use of cognitive-behavioural strategies. The “dyad” referred to must eventually be the parent-child dyad, but during therapy the relationship switches from child-therapist, child-horse, therapist-horse, therapist-parent, and finally parent-child. The active presence of the primary caregiver is a must.

Other areas discussed are herd dynamics, creating a bombproof horse and the business side of your work. The course may be used toward fulfilling hours in certification with a number of different Equine Assisted Learning organizations. This will also be discussed at the course.

The cost of the 12 day training is $2000. Dates for training are 27 July - 7 August 09. Candidates paying before April 1, 2009 will be charged $1800, after this date the full fees will apply. Providing a replacement can be found, a full refund will be provided up until 1 June 11 minus 10%. A partial refund of 50% will be provided up until 1 July 11 minus 10%. After this date, no refund will be provided.

What is included in the $2000 course fee and what training will I receive?

Beginner Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Course ($800 value) located in Yorkton, SK and sponsored by SIGN. The fee includes course, course material, breakfast, and lunch. It does not include accommodations. Beginner DDP course takes place 27-30 July 2011. Please see the flyer for this portion of the training:

The second portion of the training will take place during Radical Attachment Camp and there are no additional costs for participants. The cost includes everything during the camp training. If you fly into Regina, we will also arrange for pickup and transport to Yorkton and then transport to Arlington Beach Camp for Radical Attachment Camp. I would like to take no more than eight equine staff, as I would like the opportunity for one on one. Please let me know if you are very serious and I will send you a registration form.

Please email Marie@LongFacesHappyHearts.com for more detail.

Why is Equine Facilitated Learning so effective?
The horse will always look for a partner, a leader, and want to be a member of a team. They desire someone who leads with quiet strength. They immediately reveal to us our strengths and weaknesses in leadership and communication, where as in other forms of counseling and education this can take weeks or months. The horse looks to us to bring out the best in them, and from the very first interaction they reflect our leadership style and our own blocks to success. In this program you will find yourself with insights and growth beyond what you may expect. This is partly due to the fact that it is impossible to hide or fake it with a 1200-pound horse. In short, horses teach us the most important things in life because they virtually demand that we approach them, and respond to them, with courage, compassion, and respect. The Equine Experiential Learning therapy is so powerful because it takes precisely the same qualities and awareness for us to have successful and rewarding relationships in business and interpersonally. Participants often describe this experience as not just profound, but as a spiritual deepening. Add DDP to this dynamic and you will have a highly effective clinical method.