HEAL-Human-Equine Alliances for Learning™–  began in Washington State as a non-profit charitable organization in 2000.  HEAL brought together therapists, horse specialists, and youth advocacy workers from the south Puget Sound region, who were seeking alternatives to office-based therapies, especially for challenging clients.  The HEAL  mission was 3-fold:

1. To provide equine-facilitated MH therapy for clients with complex issues.
2. To research the effectiveness of equine-facilitated mental health therapy.
3. To educate about, and promote, equine therapy in mental health and education.

HEAL’s clinical treatment teams were led by Leigh Shambo, one of the organization’s founders.  Shambo, a lifelong equestrian instructor/trainer, had recently earned an MSW and was working as a therapist in Community Mental Health. By 2004, members of the HEAL team led horse-based sessions for individuals, therapy groups, workshops and demonstrations, at the HEAL Center in Chehalis WA, and other locations in the Pacific NW.

HEAL research on EFPL began in 2006, with a modest clinical trial on group equine therapy for patients with PTSD.  The data showed significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and dissociative symptoms, along with increased life role satisfaction . Qualitative data showed improved confidence and self-regulation (consistent with subsequent HEAL studies (2009-2011).  Results were published in the Scientific and Educational Journal of Horses In Education and Therapy International (HETI, 2010 and 2011). The study groups used a psychoeducational method blending therapeutic principles with horsemanship ‘join up’ savvy, which became the HEAL Model™ of EFPL (Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy and Learning). HEAL presentations and live demonstrations with horses have been featured at professional conferences for Mental Health, Education and Addictions Recovery, in the US, Canada, the UK, and Norway.

HEAL today is privately managed by its Director and Senior HEAL Instructor, Leigh Shambo, supported by the HEAL Advisory Council (current members shown below).  HEAL’s educational purposes have expanded in response to the demands of an evolving field.  In 2008, HEAL started it’s first Advanced Certificate program, the HEAL Facilitator Training Program (FTP).  Shambo and her late husband, David Young, co-authored the book, “The Listening Heart: The limbic path beyond office therapy,” published in 2013, which has reached readers across the globe.  In 2019-2020, the HEAL Certification courses were translated into on-line formats for practitioners.  This format (completely online, but also interactive and experiential) has become very popular for its efficiency, convenience and recognition.

The HEAL Model ™ offers practitioners a clinically responsible and effective method with strong theoretical support to guide and shape EFPL services within each individual’s scope of practice. Today, HEAL-trained Clinicians and educators can be found in over 30 US states and 6 countries.

Leigh Shambo is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and is widely recognized for authoring HEAL-sponsored research on Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and is regularly invited to teach and facilitate throughout the US, Canada and Europe.

Formerly a professional horse trainer, Leigh discovered that the horses could be teachers in their own right when tragedy required her to face a journey of emotional healing.

Kristin Fernald is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the San Juan Islands in Washington State. She has a private practice serving individuals and couples with a specialty in emotional and body-centered psychotherapy.

She offers EFPL services with her herd of 3 horses as part of her psychotherapy practice on Lopez Island. A 2011 HEAL Facilitator Training graduate, she has been teaching HEAL workshops and trainings internationally for 5 years.

Sandy Matts has taught riding to hundreds of kids and adults, and also holds a Masters’s degree in counseling psychology. While volunteering at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center, Sandy became a NARHA-Certified Instructor.

She is a HEAL Facilitator Training graduate. As the lead therapist and Executive Director of Raven Rock Ranch, she combines all of her passions and talents in one role. Raven Rock Ranch rescues horses and pairs them with at-risk children.

Jeanette Lysell, directed an equine-facilitated program for people in addiction treatment for 20 years at Oslo University Hospital. She holds a bachelor’s degree in child protection work and has completed the Scandinavian Bodynamic training in trauma therapy.

Jeanette, a 2013 HEAL graduate, now offers EFPL services at her farm to adults and children with special needs.

Norunn Kogstad owner of Lundehagen Farm specializes in psychiatry and body-oriented psychotherapy. She completed the HEAL training in 2013.

She works for a local hospital and runs a small horse farm in Norway where she lives with her growing family. Norunn is also a Level 1 Centered Riding Instructor. Her EFP practice is focused on leading groups with children and adults.

David Young was a highly-awarded scientist and engineer, who studied EFPL extensively.  His childhood love of horses rekindled in his retirement years, a time when David started several colts from scratch, and developed an interest in the therapeutic potential of EFPL.  His dynamic friendship with Leigh Shambo grew into love and marriage and together they deloped a unique training approach for therapy horses that honors instinct, enhances limbic connectivity, and develops the equine capacity for seeking, problem-solving, and communication with humans.

David’s strength as a researcher and interest in heart-based biofeedback informs the HEAL Model™ of EFPL with the latest discoveries in the neuroscience of emotional and relational functioning in humans. David serves as an equine specialist for groups, and for marital or family sessions.

R.I.P. David Young.  Thank you for your heart for people and horses, and for what you’ve contributed to HEAL!