Utah Healing Center Uses Horses and Dogs to Aid in Trauma Therapy
Published June 26, 2019 on Utah Stories by Claire McArthur
Healing Center works with individuals of all ages suffering from physical disabilities, chronic or terminal illnesses, and have experienced traumatic life events. They also work with depression, anxiety, mood disorders, grief, addictions, parenting and family issues.
Animals Are Healers
Dr. Janelle Nimer has always believed in the healing powers of animals.
“Animals were the reason I went into social work. I wanted to incorporate animals into healing,” says Nimer. “I’ve always known that’s what’s helped me heal.”
She earned her masters and doctorate in social work and completed a three-year doctoral fellowship in veterinary social work. Utah beckoned her home in 2011 and she opened Utah Healing Center with her mother Janet Nimer Wilson, a licensed clinical social worker who’s been working in private practice for over 25 years.
Experiential and Animal Therapy
Utah Healing Center has since grown to include 10 practitioners using evidence-based practices to treat children and adults who’ve experienced trauma. The center also has a trained service dog, Flower, who was trained by Canine Companions for Independence and was donated to the office without charge, along with two other soon-to-be-certified therapy dogs who participate in therapy sessions.
Flower is specifically trained to work with children, adolescents, and adults navigating mental health challenges. You can even follow Flower on Instagram @flowerfacilitydog
Flower attends court hearings with children, engages in play therapy and acts as a source of comfort during sessions.
“The animals that we work with, we describe them either as absorbent or reactive. They will absorb the emotion. If we have someone who is really tearful, and needs that shoulder to lean on, the animals can be that shoulder,” explains Nimer. “The reactive animals will act as a mirror to show the clients what they aren’t seeing in themselves.”
But Nimer wanted to continue pushing the boundaries on experiential and animal therapy while also making it more accessible for all income levels.
Last year Utah Healing Center launched its nonprofit arm, Animals 4 Healing.
“That is our division where we incorporate more of the experiential — gardening, therapeutic horseback riding, music and movement,” she explains. “We’ve got yoga therapists and music therapists.”
Animals 4 Healing leases land and horses from Sunset Equestrian Center in Kaysville. They incorporate horses into traditional psychotherapy techniques, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which is a clinically-proven method for retraining negative experiences and feelings into positive ones.
“I’ve had kids who are shy and withdrawn and they get bullied. When they get in the arena and start running with the horses, it gives them this sense of power,” says Nimer.
Meet Therapy Horse Majestic!
One of the top therapy horses, Majestic, who was also donated, is known for nuzzling the kids, especially those dealing with attachment issues.
Animals 4 Healing is in the process of forming a board, writing grants and seeking other sources of funding. The nonprofit is searching for its own land where they can keep horses and offer more animal-assisted therapy.
“Our hope is to really roll everything over to the nonprofit. We want to help bridge the experiential therapies with the evidence-based,” Nimer said. She hopes to offer the therapy for free or on a sliding scale for low-income individuals.
“We want to be able to help more people who are dealing with trauma, no matter their income.”
“Our hope is to really roll everything over to the nonprofit. We want to help bridge the experiential therapies with the evidence based,” says Nimer. She hopes to offer the therapy for free or on a sliding scale for low-income individuals.
“We want to be able to help more people who are dealing with trauma, no matter their income.”
The nonprofit Utah Healing Center is searching for its own land and facility where they can bridge all animals (dogs, horses, goats, fish, etc.), nature (gardening, orchard, labyrinth, etc.), music (drumming, piano, etc.), and movement (yoga, dance, Pilates, fitness, etc.) therapy with evidence-based practices at one facility for all individuals who have experienced a traumatic event.
