Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects
Date of Award
2015
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Family Therapy
Advisor
Shelley Green
Committee Member
Christopher Burnett
Committee Member
Martha Marquez
Abstract
The Introduction to Equine Assisted Family Therapy course offered at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) provides Master’s and Doctoral level student therapists the opportunity to learn how to conduct an equine session and how to utilize horses as part of the therapeutic process. Students learn about the underlying theories and framework behind the equine activities and methodology, as well as participate in the equine activities themselves. For the purpose of this study, classroom discussions centered around processing the students’ experiences and were further enriched by viewing photographs and videos that had been taken of the students conducting the equine activities. The researcher utilized IPR as a qualitative methodology to create an improved perspective where students reflected on their experience and made connections with their professional and personal developments.
The findings of this grounded theory study document how students reflected on their personal and clinical development. More specifically, the transcripts of the conversations that took place during class discussions and interviews from students who took the course a year earlier showed that students reflected on their personal awareness, created changes in their relationships, developed their self of the therapist, honed in on their clinical skills and started viewing therapy differently. This study confirmed the transformative nature that the Introduction to Equine Assisted Therapy course has on the students.
NSUWorks Citation
Dianna Isabel Giraldez. 2015. Using Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) to Examine the Effects of Equine Assisted Activities on the Personal and Professional Development of Student Therapists. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Family Therapy. (15)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dft_etd/15.
Included in
Animal-Assisted Therapy Commons, Animal Studies Commons, Community-Based Learning Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Counselor Education Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Higher Education Commons, Psychology Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons