About LEAP

LEAP is the South Carolina Lowcountry's first equine-assisted psychotherapy team of Clinical Psychologists and EAGALA trained practi- tioners.

Our mission is to provide, on a not-for-profit basis, the unique benefits of equine-assisted psychotherapy and assessment to the South Carolina Lowcountry communities regardless of gender, socio-economic status, race or creed.

LEAP is designed to serve a broad range of populations that suffer from emotional and other psychological distress. We treat children, adolescents, adults, families, and other groups. But our primary focus is to help at risk children and adolescents.

We consider "at risk" to be those young people who, because of abuse, neglect, or other trauma, are likely to engage in anti-social, self-destructive, and/or criminal behavior.

In working with our clients, LEAP uses the Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) modality. EAP is an especially beneficial program that facilitates emotional well-being, growth, and learning. Equine- Assisted psychotherapy was developed and has been refined over the past ten years by EAGALA (Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association) the non-profit organization that developed equine-assisted psychotherapy and maintains the standards and practices of the modality. The Executive Director, Dr. Broughan, the Clinical Director Dr. Lipovsky, and the Horse Professional staff members of LEAP are EAGALA certified practitioners.

Many psychological and emotional issues, particularly those experienced by children and adolescents, have proven to be resistant to traditional office-oriented treatments. EAP, originally developed to break down the barriers encountered in working with troubled young people in the criminal justice system, has been demonstrated to work well within these and other populations.

Because it is efficient, disarming, and emotionally involving, EAP does not require the long term commitment and expenses so often necessary in traditional therapies. Just a few sessions can bring important insights and results.

Like other experiential and adventure-based therapies, EAP takes the patient and therapist out of the traditional, limited environment of the office and allows them to interact in an interesting real-world environment. Unlike other “outdoor” therapies, EAP employs interaction with another highly sensitive, social creature – the horse. Horses offer unconditional friendship, immediate and totally honest feedback, and they express a wide range of feelings. Therefore, patients, particularly children and young adults, immediately relate to the horse and become more open and trusting.

EAP uses the unique and ancient bond between human and horse to break through the barriers often encountered in traditional therapeutic modalities. EAP is not about riding or horsemanship. It is about personal growth and development. In fact, 90+% of the activity takes place, not on horseback, but on the ground, with individuals who have never touched a horse before.

Each EAP session consists of pre-planned tasks for the patient to accomplish with the horse in which the patient has a specific objective to achieve. The EAP therapist designs each task/objective to address the patient’s particular psychological/emotional issues and problems. The patient’s attempts to accomplish the objective of the task reveals the patient’s characteristic dysfunctional and/or functional behavior patterns. The therapist then works with the patient to help him/her understand the problems that they are encountering with the horse. These discussions provide a bridge for the patient to develop insight into how this same dysfunctional behavior affects the patient’s day to day living.

LEAP programs are designed to treat a wide variety of psychological and emotional issues including:

child abuse & neglect
addictive behavior
eating disorders
conduct issues
attention deficit disorder
physical and emotional abuse
trauma
depression
anxiety
relationship problems
communication difficulties
bereavement/grief