The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse Disorder
While psychotherapy incorporating equine interaction (PIE) has proven to be a viable therapeutic intervention, it is not a common mental health service found on college campuses. Nevertheless, with the rise of mental health challenges on campuses after the COVID-19 pandemic, a need for effective the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | COVID |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/4/2/13 |
| _version_ | 1797298585423839232 |
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| author | Katie Holtcamp Molly C. Nicodemus Tommy Phillips David Christiansen Brian J. Rude Peter L. Ryan Karen Galarneau |
| author_facet | Katie Holtcamp Molly C. Nicodemus Tommy Phillips David Christiansen Brian J. Rude Peter L. Ryan Karen Galarneau |
| author_sort | Katie Holtcamp |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While psychotherapy incorporating equine interaction (PIE) has proven to be a viable therapeutic intervention, it is not a common mental health service found on college campuses. Nevertheless, with the rise of mental health challenges on campuses after the COVID-19 pandemic, a need for effective therapeutic solutions is warranted. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of a collegiate recovery community (CRC) PIE program for substance abuse disorder (SUD) compared to that of traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and to determine whether physiological synchronization occurs between the human and horse during the therapy process. College-aged adults were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic for two types of short-term SUD therapeutic interventions, CRC-PIE and CBT. Both groups completed a self-reporting survey assessing emotional safety. Vital signs measurements for human and horse participants within the CRC-PIE were collected prior to and after the first and last therapeutic sessions. Results concluded that although emotional safety did not improve significantly for PIE participants by the last therapy session (<i>p</i> = 0.85), emotional safety scores were significantly different between therapy types, with lower post-therapy scores for PIE (<i>p</i> = 0.04). As for physiological measures for PIE participants, respiratory rates (Human: <i>p</i> = 0.01; Horse: <i>p</i> = 0.01) and pain rating scores (Human: <i>p</i> = 0.03; Horse: <i>p</i> = 0.01) significantly decreased post-therapy and a strong positive correlation (R = 0.73, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.53) associated with vital signs was observed between humans and horses. This human–horse physiological synchronization during the therapeutic intervention suggests that the horse may be a viable tool within campus CRC programs for the development of therapeutic alliances within the therapy process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:37:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dac3868ef3d94b05abe8e48869878834 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-8112 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:37:00Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | COVID |
| spelling | doaj.art-dac3868ef3d94b05abe8e488698788342024-02-23T15:13:03ZengMDPI AGCOVID2673-81122024-01-014215116910.3390/covid4020013The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse DisorderKatie Holtcamp0Molly C. Nicodemus1Tommy Phillips2David Christiansen3Brian J. Rude4Peter L. Ryan5Karen Galarneau6Counseling Services, Dogwood Wellness Group, Starkville, MS 39760, USAAnimal & Dairy Sciences Department, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USASchool of Human Sciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USALarge Animal Medicine Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USAAnimal & Dairy Sciences Department, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USAOffice of Provost and Executive Vice President, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USALarge Animal Medicine Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USAWhile psychotherapy incorporating equine interaction (PIE) has proven to be a viable therapeutic intervention, it is not a common mental health service found on college campuses. Nevertheless, with the rise of mental health challenges on campuses after the COVID-19 pandemic, a need for effective therapeutic solutions is warranted. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of a collegiate recovery community (CRC) PIE program for substance abuse disorder (SUD) compared to that of traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and to determine whether physiological synchronization occurs between the human and horse during the therapy process. College-aged adults were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic for two types of short-term SUD therapeutic interventions, CRC-PIE and CBT. Both groups completed a self-reporting survey assessing emotional safety. Vital signs measurements for human and horse participants within the CRC-PIE were collected prior to and after the first and last therapeutic sessions. Results concluded that although emotional safety did not improve significantly for PIE participants by the last therapy session (<i>p</i> = 0.85), emotional safety scores were significantly different between therapy types, with lower post-therapy scores for PIE (<i>p</i> = 0.04). As for physiological measures for PIE participants, respiratory rates (Human: <i>p</i> = 0.01; Horse: <i>p</i> = 0.01) and pain rating scores (Human: <i>p</i> = 0.03; Horse: <i>p</i> = 0.01) significantly decreased post-therapy and a strong positive correlation (R = 0.73, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.53) associated with vital signs was observed between humans and horses. This human–horse physiological synchronization during the therapeutic intervention suggests that the horse may be a viable tool within campus CRC programs for the development of therapeutic alliances within the therapy process.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/4/2/13psychotherapy incorporating equine interactionsubstance abuse disorderstudent mental healthcollegiate recovery community |
| spellingShingle | Katie Holtcamp Molly C. Nicodemus Tommy Phillips David Christiansen Brian J. Rude Peter L. Ryan Karen Galarneau The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse Disorder COVID psychotherapy incorporating equine interaction substance abuse disorder student mental health collegiate recovery community |
| title | The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse Disorder |
| title_full | The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse Disorder |
| title_fullStr | The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse Disorder |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse Disorder |
| title_short | The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse Disorder |
| title_sort | effects of a collegiate recovery community psychotherapy program incorporating equine interaction during the covid 19 pandemic on young adults with substance abuse disorder |
| topic | psychotherapy incorporating equine interaction substance abuse disorder student mental health collegiate recovery community |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/4/2/13 |
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