EQUINE-INCLUDED COUNSELLING & PSYCHOTHERAPY
Discover Equine-Included Counselling in North Vancouver
At Hollyburn Support Services, we offer Equine-Included Counselling and Psychotherapy in North Vancouver, providing children, teens, and adults with an alternative to traditional office-based therapy.
Sometimes called equine therapy, horse therapy, or equine-assisted therapy, this experiential approach combines professional, evidence-based counselling with the relational experience of being alongside horses.
Sessions take place outdoors in the Lynn Valley area of North Vancouver, where clients have an opportunity to slow down, connect, and explore their experiences in a different environment. Horses can bring a powerful relational and experiential dimension to counselling, creating opportunities to notice emotions, patterns, boundaries, communication, and connection as they happen.
Equine-Included Counselling can be especially meaningful for people who don’t feel comfortable in a traditional therapy office, find it easier to engage while outdoors, or are simply interested in exploring counselling in a more experiential way.
What Is Equine-Included Counselling?
Equine-Included Counselling integrates the presence of horses into the therapeutic process. At Hollyburn, sessions are facilitated by a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with advanced training in equine-assisted mental health and counselling.
While the environment may look different from traditional therapy, counselling remains at the centre of the work. Your counsellor draws from evidence-based therapeutic approaches and adapts each session to your individual needs, comfort level, and counselling goals.
There is no horseback riding involved. All interactions with the horses take place on the ground and may include:
- Gentle interaction and relationship-building with a horse
- Observing horse behaviour and relational dynamics
- Touch, mindfulness, and grounding exercises
- Structured therapeutic activities guided by the counsellor
- Trauma-informed approaches, including EMDR when appropriate
- Simply spending time alongside a horse while talking with your counsellor
You don’t need any previous experience with horses. Participation is always guided by your comfort level, with both client safety and the ethical inclusion and well-being of the horses prioritized throughout the process.
Who Can Benefit From Equine Therapy?
Equine-Included Counselling may be helpful for children, teens, young adults, and adults experiencing a variety of emotional, behavioural, and life challenges.
It may be particularly well suited for:
- Children, tweens, and teens who find traditional talk therapy difficult or uncomfortable
- People experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, or PTSD
- Youth working on emotional regulation, confidence, and self-awareness
- People with ADHD, autism, or other forms of neurodivergence
- People experiencing relationship, school, peer, or life-transition challenges
- Clients who feel more comfortable moving, being outdoors, or learning experientially
- Anyone interested in exploring personal growth, connection, and emotional awareness in a non-traditional counselling setting
You don’t need to have a particular diagnosis or concern to benefit from working with horses. Your counsellor will work with you to determine whether equine-included sessions are a good fit for your goals.
Our Approach to Equine-Included Counselling
Equine-Included Counselling at Hollyburn is professional, collaborative, experiential, and individualized.
Sessions may incorporate therapeutic approaches such as EMDR, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Narrative Therapy, Synergetic Play Therapy, and other evidence-informed approaches, depending on your needs and goals.
Rather than following a predetermined set of horse activities, the counselling process is responsive to what emerges in the session. The horse and outdoor environment become part of the therapeutic experience while the counsellor remains focused on your emotional safety, therapeutic goals, and overall well-being.
Meet Our North Vancouver Equine Counsellor
Jonathan Boudin, M.Ed., RCC, CEIP-MH is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Certified Equine Interaction Professional – Mental Health who provides Equine-Included Counselling in North Vancouver.
Jonathan has more than a decade of counselling experience, with particular experience supporting children, tweens, teens, young adults, neurodivergent clients, and people experiencing anxiety, trauma, and emotional regulation challenges.
His connection with horses began long before his counselling career. With a lifelong background around horses and specialized postgraduate training in equine-assisted mental health, Jonathan combines clinical counselling expertise with a deep understanding of horses, equine behaviour, and the therapeutic possibilities of working alongside them.
Equine Counselling Location
Equine-Included Counselling is offered in the Lynn Valley area of North Vancouver, making this specialized service accessible to clients throughout North Vancouver, West Vancouver, the North Shore, and surrounding Metro Vancouver communities.
Sessions take place outdoors in a natural equine environment.
Curious whether Equine-Included Counselling is right for you or your child?
Request a free 15-minute consultation to learn more about working with Jonathan and whether equine-included counselling may be a good fit.