Meaning centred equine assisted psychotherapy as a complementary technique of logotherapy in the treatment of psychiatric disorders

Abstract

The study undertook to describe how using equine assisted psychotherapy as a technique of logotherapy could support those who have been diagnosed and placed in a long-term care facility with a psychiatric disorder to find a sense of meaning and value in their lives. This alternative therapeutic modality is a response to gaps and limitations identified in the traditional approach to the diagnosis and treatment of these psychiatric disorders. A qualitative, descriptive, multi-case study was conducted over a period of six weeks. The inclusion criteria were psychiatric patients who had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and were, at the time of the study, placed in a long-term psychiatric care facility. Eight participants were purposively selected. Written informed consent was obtained and participation was voluntary. The researcher held ethical boundaries regarding the values and principles of psychotherapy. Each participant was seen weekly during the study period by a clinical psychologist, who is also the researcher. The therapeutic intervention was Logotherapy, combined with equine assisted psychotherapy as a technique – a therapeutic modality in its own right - to build on logotherapy’s tenets and principles. Data collection consisted of audio-recordings of each of the individual sessions with participants, personal reflective journals by participants and researcher, researcher’s process notes and each participant’s ‘letter to the horses’. Thematic analysis was conducted on audio-recording transcriptions and all documents for in-case studies and across-case studies. Themes were corroborated with Frankl’s logotherapy concepts. The findings showed that all participants benefitted from the short-term intervention, and that equine assisted psychotherapy is an effective technique for incorporation with Logotherapy. This study has contributed to the under-researched area of combining logotherapy and equine assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of psychiatric patients. It also contributes to the substantial body of research in these respective modalities.

The value of this research is that it offers an opportunity for those who are caught in a sense of fate and loss of meaning to find their sense of movement towards self-transcendence. Additionally, research on general psychological constructs such as meaning, purpose and value in life, which are pertinent today, would benefit.