Nov 10 — Animals often bring out the best in us, says Meagan Good, who has seen this happen several times with the horses at her Take Heart ranch.
The 50-acre facility in Heidelberg Township offers horse-assisted therapy and counseling for people with mental health issues, and specializes in helping those who have suffered trauma.
Good is a licensed professional counselor, and has a long-standing concern with veterans trying to cope with the emotional wounds of war. Her father was deployed in the Air Force for much of her childhood, she said, and she had other relatives who served in the military, so she knows the price that they pay for their service.
So, a few weeks before Veterans Day, Good led a group of local veterans advocates and officials on a visit to Take Heart to discuss a program she is planning for veterans there. in spring.
In 2019, there were an average of 17 veteran suicides per day, according to the VA. Good said it’s a tragedy she hopes to alleviate.
She and her staff have treated veterans before at Take Heart, but never as part of the group she’s planning for the spring, when an eight-week program will be hosted there and sponsored by Braver Together, a veterans’ charity. based in Womelsdorf.
The idea is that from around March to May, between four and eight local veterans would come to the ranch for 90-minute sessions together once a week for eight weeks. They would learn basic riding skills, such as grooming, and eventually work their way up to riding.
They would also be matched with advisers who would give them the opportunity to discuss their issues, Good said.
Some people aren’t comfortable receiving advice in a clinical setting, but the peaceful and relaxed nature of the ranch, along with the connection many feel with horses, often prompts them to open up and get help. help, she said.
Great plans for hosting one-on-one therapy sessions for veterans, which would also be sponsored by Braver Together. For some veterans, however, the group setting will be more beneficial, as it will help them realize that they are not alone in their struggles, she said.
Take Heart, which was located near Mohnton for six years before moving to its current location on Wooltown Road in March 2020, has 11 horses and a donkey in its therapy program.
Among those who were able to meet them on the recent tour were Berks Director of Veterans Affairs Ken Lebron and James Stafford of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, who spoke with Good about the potential they saw for veterans facing issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder. stress disorder to get help at Take Heart.
Steve Mannino, Berks veterans benefits educator and outreach coordinator, said he hopes local veterans will sign up for the spring program, which will be free for them.
Scientifically, there is a lot of evidence that therapy like the one provided by Take Heart is effective in rewiring the brain to heal from trauma, Good said.
But on a more down-to-earth level, it’s easy to see how people feel better about themselves around horses, she said.
And much of trauma recovery involves non-verbal communication, which clients exchange with horses, she said.
Carrie Landis, who is on the staff of Take Heart, said it was amazing how people bond with animals.
“Horses can tap into places in us that people can’t,” she said.
Lebron said his office regularly helps veterans trying to cope with PTSD, anxiety, depression and other psychiatric issues, and he’s excited about Take Heart’s potential as another resource.
For veterans, having the opportunity to do everything from feeding animals to therapeutic walks can help them reduce stress, increase their self-confidence, develop their relationship skills, connect with their emotions and increase their ability to trust others, he said.
“It’s a great program,” he said. “And that kind of support is another tool for us to help veterans.”
For more information on Take Heart, email Meagan Good at [email protected] or call her at 717-917-7137.
