Community Project

This unique project is a collaboration with Turning Point/Somerset Drug and Alcohol Service’s Children and Young People’s Team. Initially funded by the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner we provide Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy alongside Turning Point workers for children and young people who have experience continued symptoms of psychological trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of drug or alcohol use, either that experienced by the young person themselves, or where it has been a feature of their family and their developmental experience.

Young People can often find it hard to trust, to form effective relationships and to make those first steps in understanding their life experiences. Working with our therapist, our horses and their Turning Point worker we can help the young person change that.

Our work is not ridden, but is more about therapeutic work with these sensitive intelligent animals to find connection and develop trust. This can enable the young person to open up about their experiences in order to understand what has happened to them. From there they can start to process their experiences and eventually to even transform their experiences into a more positive current and future outlook on life.

Working alongside horses, they can help us as:

Mirror -they pick up on and read to our emotional states. Often this is deeply impactful for young people where usual “talking cures” can be more difficult

Metaphor - as human beings we often find meaning in our interactions with horses far beyond any spoken communication. Feeling understood and experiencing affection from a horse can be a truly healing experience. Likewise horses can help us learn about our part in social, psychological and emotional relationships far outside of our sessions.

Medicine - Interactions with horses can often feel good. There is a sound neurological basis for this in that our systems react to the interactions with horses in the emotional “mid brain” centres, which are often important in processing “stuck” memories, emotions and relationships.

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy has been practiced for over 4 decades in the United Kingdom and the researched benefits are many. Our sessions take place at a number of locations in the county of Somerset. Our sessions typically last an hour and a half and will be tailored to the child or young person’s needs. 

Philip is our principle Equine Facilitated Psychotherapist. He has over 36 years clinical mental health experience. His initial training was as a Mental Health Nurse and he has significant further training and experience in working with psychological trauma, young people and equine facilitated work. Philip holds a Masters Degree in Mental Health specialising in Cognitive Therapy from the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guys and St Thomas’s (later part of the Institute of Psychiatry) at the University of London. He is trained in a number of trauma treatment modalities. He is trained as an Eye Movement Desensitisation Reintegration (EMDR) therapist for both adults and children. He is trained in Internal Family Systems with IFS UK, part of the worldwide IFS Institute. He first trained in Equine Facilitated work with the world renowned HERD Institute before undertaking his Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy Training with LEAP, one of the few OFQUAL regulated training courses for registered mental health professionals in the UK. He is statutorily registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. He is a member of Horses in Education and Therapy International (HETI), the International Society of Anthrozoology and he is an accredited Coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Before leaving the NHS in 2024 to allow more time for the project Philip held a number of Executive Director roles in the NHS, most notably Director of Nursing in Somerset Partnership NHS Trust and he was also Chief Nurse for Devon during the response to the COVID 19 pandemic. He has operated as the health safeguarding lead at Board level in many of these organisations. 

At the moment the Pegasus Project is solely a collaboration with Turning Point/SDAS, but if a child or young person fits the criteria for the service please contact SDAS Children and Young Persons service directly. Sadly we cannot take direct referrals into the project from individuals or other agencies at this time, although we hope that this will change as we further develop our work.