The Equine & Animal Assisted Psychotherapy Institute

20/08/2026

Clinicians, Counsellors, Coaches, Support Workers and Teachers: support more clients, participants and students by deepening your practice - integrate horses through equine assisted practice that changes brains, bodies and whole-beings in 2026!
Step into meaningful professional development delivered legally, ethically and with integrity, with our flexible options:

1. In-person EAP or EAL training options in Daylesford Victoria
2. Online live zoom classes
3. Online self-paced

You can start your training anytime with our self-paced online Equine Assisted Psychotherapy or Equine Assisted Learning from home - OR we have a new online cohort for live, online (zoom classes) beginning March 2027!

As the first Australian Equine Assisted Psychotherapy training that set the standard, EAAPI offers a comprehensive, theoretically rich and methodologically sound training pathway that you can trust with 15 years experience delivering education, supervision and support to Australian and international students learning Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine Assisted Learning (EAL).

🎯 Support clients to meet meaningful therapeutic and learning goals
🌿 Expand and diversify your professional practice
🧠 Trauma-informed, somatic-focused and relationally oriented
📍 In-person in VIC - or Online Self-paced for 2026
🐎 Strong commitment to horse welfare and enrichment
🎁 Bonus: receive our Signature Horse Wisdom Program to tailor with your clients
🤍 Non AI created: proudly human made and developed over 15 years

Whether you’re stepping into something new or deepening your existing therapeutic or educational practice, this specialist training offers the credibility, capability and confidence to take your practice further.

Ready to take the next step? 👉 Read more and enrol: https://www.equinepsychotherapy.net.au/our-horse-therapy-training-programs/training-calendar/

Call (+61) 0437 882 600/ email admin@equinepsychotherapy / visit www.equinepsychotherapy.net.au

19/08/2026

Looking for a New Psychotherapist? We have a few places available for room based psychotherapy (Carlton and Daylesford), Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (Daylesford), and Animal Assisted Psychotherapy.

Looking for Social Work, Psychotherapy, Equine/Animal Assisted Psychotherapy or Equine/Animal Assisted Learning Supervision? We have opened up two new online group supervision times and have a few places for individual supervision.

We love supporting people in life and in work. Email us on [email protected] or Call (+61) 0437 882 60

18/08/2026

Do you think that you could create successful animal assisted psychotherapy services with animals such as reptiles or fish or does it have to be a dog or farm animals?
We teach you about what animal assisted psychotherapy actually is and how diverse the services can be.
Call 0437 882 600 today to discuss our flexible training programs.

17/08/2026

Discover a new way of being with horses.
Our founder and visionary, Meg Kirby, brings deep insight, heart, and experience to her groundbreaking book:
Horses, Love & Science: The Eight Commitments of I-Thou Horsepersonship.

This insightful book offers a compassionate, science-informed framework for living, learning, and working with horses in a truly relational way. As an author, educator, Equine Assisted Psychotherapist and creator of I-Thou Horsepersonship, Meg invites you on a transformative journey through the Eight Commitments of this life-changing practice.

📘 Deepen your understanding. Shift your relationship. Or gift it to someone who shares your love of horses.

👉 Order your copy here:
https://www.equinepsychotherapy.net.au/equine-therapy-training-books/

16/08/2026

Why do animal-assisted therapies work for so many people?
A comprehensive 2024 systematic review suggests that the answer lies not simply in the presence of an animal—but in the unique therapeutic relationship that develops.

Researchers found that animal-assisted therapy shows promise across a wide range of populations and clinical settings by:

✔ Promoting wellbeing
✔ Strengthening the therapeutic alliance
✔ Supporting emotional engagement
✔ Showing positive effects in psychiatric, neurological and cognitive conditions

The human-animal bond creates opportunities for trust, safety and authentic connection—powerful foundations for therapeutic change.

At the Equine & Animal Psychotherapy Institute, we teach practitioners how to integrate these relationships ethically, safely and within an evidence-informed framework.

📖 Research
Pandey, R., et al. (2024). Role of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Enhancing Patients' Well-Being.
https://doi.org/10.2196/51787

For Research nerds: Consider visiting our website SHOP and purchasing our Equine Assisted Services and Animal Assisted Services Research Pack
The 2013 – 2025 EAAPI Collection https://www.equinepsychotherapy.net.au/product/research-and-evidence-base/

15/08/2026

13/08/2026

Many people are confused about what animal assisted therapy is referring to.
Is it animal assisted occupational therapy? Animal assisted speech therapy? Animal assisted physical therapy? Animal assisted counselling or psychotherapy? Or is it none of those and just a generalist course about having a (good tempered) dog or animal incorporated into generic support - so not actually animal assisted therapy or psychotherapy at all!

Join EAAPI’s world renowned training and we’ll help answer all these questions and more. Call 0437 882 600 today.

12/08/2026

One sure-fire way to support me from feeling, flat , overwhelmed, tired or headachy is to sit quietly or go out for a walk with my dog Bear, or to step out to the paddock with my horse friends, or to sit quietly with the kangaroos in the EAAPI sanctuary. What's yours?

10/08/2026

University can be an exciting time, but it can also bring significant stress and anxiety.
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found that animal-assisted interventions significantly improved students' mental health by reducing acute stress and anxiety.
Interestingly, researchers found no measurable improvements in cognitive performance or physiological outcomes.

So what does that mean?

Animal-assisted interventions don't make students "smarter"—but they may help students become calmer, more emotionally regulated and better equipped to cope with academic pressures.

Developing emotional intelligence (EQ) can be just as important as developing intellectual ability (IQ), particularly when managing stress and building resilience.

At the Equine & Animal Psychotherapy Institute, we believe emotionally healthy learners become more confident, engaged and resilient professionals.

📖 Research
Huber, A., et al. (2024). Animal-assisted interventions improve mental, but not cognitive or physiological health outcomes of higher education students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00945-4

For Research nerds: Consider visiting our website SHOP and purchasing our Equine Assisted Services and Animal Assisted Services Research Pack
The 2013 – 2025 EAAPI Collection https://www.equinepsychotherapy.net.au/product/research-and-evidence-base/