Photo: Fran Dwight
As a licensed professional counselor in the Kalamazoo area, Natasha Federinko has worked with many adolescents struggling with their emotions. Kids grieving lost family members. Kids with post-traumatic stress syndrome. Kids dealing with depression or anxiety or anger issues. Federinko’s secret weapon for those in a mental-health crisis: Horses. A counselor trained in equine-assisted therapy, Federinko says working with horses can provide an avenue for building self-esteem and confidence; for teaching problem-solving skills, impulse control, and emotional awareness; and for helping kids – as well as adults -- learn how to build trust and empathy. “We’ve had kids who have a very hard time at school, like getting into arguments,” Federinko said. “And then they’ll come in and say, ‘I got really mad at my teacher’ or they got mad because a classmate looked at them wrong. But then they thought of their horse and the mindful calming exercises we practiced and did that in their head, and so they didn’t hit or yell or push or whatever.” Whenever that happens, Federinko said, “that’s a huge success story.”
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