Many veterans returning from military service face a lot of challenges coping with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The veterans normally have hard time readjusting to life out of the military as they constantly feel emotionally numb and emotionally and disconnected. Generally, veterans have experienced traumatic situations in the past during their service. Such events may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder may render their lives uncomfortable (Kemp et al., 2014). The symptoms include recurrent and intrusive reminders of the traumatic events, negative changes in thoughts and mood, as well as extreme avoidance of things that remind them of the traumatic event. Thorough research on some treatment options aimed at alleviating symptoms of PTSD is necessary. The research will help in providing insights that will help in improving the quality of life of individuals coping with PTSD ( Stefanini et al., 2015). As a nursing practitioner specializing in the alleviation of symptoms of anxiety disorders, the findings of such a research will help me to better improve the wellbeing of clients struggling with PTSD. This paper will focus on analyzing two research papers on equine assisted therapy options for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Johnson, R. A., Albright, D. L., Marzolf, J. R., Bibbo, J. L., Yaglom, H. D., Crowder, S. M., ... & Osterlind, S. (2018). Effects of therapeutic horseback riding on post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans. Military medical research , 5 (1), 3.
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The main purpose of the study was to examine the effect of therapeutic horseback riding (THR) on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in veterans. The researchers sought to investigate the potential benefits of therapeutic horseback riding to veterans coping with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. As such, the study contributes significantly to the advancement of the empirical exploration into therapeutic horseback riding as an effective form of rehabilitation for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The study involved 57 veterans from Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital. The research was limited to investigating the potential benefits of therapeutic horseback riding to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The researchers used a randomized wait-list controlled design that featured repeated measures of United States’ military veterans to determine the efficacy of a six-week therapeutic horseback riding program for decreasing PTSD symptoms. A total of 57 participants were enrolled in the study, with 29 being enrolled in the randomized trial. The participants were randomly assigned to either a horse riding group or a wait-list control group. The control group began to ride horses after six weeks of participating in the control group. The symptoms of PTSD were measured using the standardized PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M).
A lot of research on the prevalence and the potential negative impact of PTSD on veterans have been carried out in the past. However, research that examines innovative interventions is relatively scarce. Therefore, this particular study will play a critical role in advancing research on the potential interventions for mitigating symptoms of PTSD. The study examining the efficacy of therapeutic horse riding will go a long way in seeking a long term approach to managing symptoms of PTSD.
The study had some shortcomings. One of such shortcomings is that the sample size was too small, limiting the researchers’ power to detect changes in the independent variables. Additionally, the study did not include a longitudinal follow up in order to determine the extent to which PTSD symptoms remained lower after time passed.
The study concluded that therapeutic horse riding (TRH) may be a clinically effective intervention for alleviating symptoms of PTSD among veterans. The researchers suggested that health systems could consider making TRH a reimbursable complementary therapy.
Earles, J. L., Vernon, L. L., & Yetz, J. P. (2015). Equine ‐ assisted therapy for anxiety and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Journal of traumatic stress , 28 (2), 149-152.
The study recognizes that equine-assisted therapy has increasingly become a popular method of alleviating symptoms of anxiety disorders such as PTSD. The main purpose of the study was to test the efficacy of the Equine Partnering Naturally approach to equine assisted therapy in alleviating symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The researchers studied 16 participants, 12 female and 4 male volunteers. The study involved six sessions where the participants were grouped into three units of 5 to six members at Florida Atlantic University.
The 16 participants were recruited through mental health practitioners identified by the researchers. Participants that reported at least one Criterion A traumatic event were included in the study. The psychological and physical health of the participants was assessed using the 17-item PCL-S. Additionally, the mindfulness, social support, and coping strategies were examined using the 39-item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. The study is significant to the advancement of research on potential treatment options for people struggling with symptoms of anxiety disorders.
The study had a major limitation. The study lacked a control group, suggesting that it is possible that the observed effects may have not been due to the equine assisted therapy.
The authors concluded that equine assisted therapy can be an effective therapeutic technique for treating symptoms of PTSD and other anxiety disorders. The study suggested that Equine Partnering Naturally program could be an effective equine-assisted therapy approach for the treatment of a variety of psychological symptoms.
Summary
The two studies lend evidence to support the potential efficacy of various equine-assisted therapies in treating symptoms of PTSD and other anxiety disorders. As a nursing practitioner specializing in the alleviation of symptoms of anxiety disorders, the studies will provide me with important insights regarding the treatment of various psychological symptoms. The results from the studies provide important ideas as to the best approaches for implementing equine assisted therapies on patients struggling with symptoms of anxiety disorders.
References
Earles, J. L., Vernon, L. L., & Yetz, J. P. (2015). Equine ‐ assisted therapy for anxiety and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Journal of traumatic stress , 28 (2), 149-152.
Johnson, R. A., Albright, D. L., Marzolf, J. R., Bibbo, J. L., Yaglom, H. D., Crowder, S. M., ... & Osterlind, S. (2018). Effects of therapeutic horseback riding on post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans. Military medical research , 5 (1), 3.
Kemp, K., Signal, T., Botros, H., Taylor, N., & Prentice, K. (2014). Equine facilitated therapy with children and adolescents who have been sexually abused: A program evaluation study. Journal of child and family studies , 23 (3), 558-566.
Stefanini, M. C., Martino, A., Allori, P., Galeotti, F., & Tani, F. (2015). The use of Animal-Assisted Therapy in adolescents with acute mental disorders: A randomized controlled study. Complementary therapies in clinical practice , 21 (1), 42-46.
