Mental health has dominated many headlines and conversations even before COVID-19 began. In Longmont, the conversation has found its way onto a farm, just north of Longmont, where Kate Neligan hosts an animal-partnered approach to mental health and healing.
According to a blog post written by Charles McAdams, Ed.D, on the William and Mary School of Education website, there are more than 300 approaches to counseling and no one is better than the rest. “Determining whether one counseling approach works better than another is difficult because there are so many variables to consider in the counseling process,” McAdams writes.
Neligan uses an approach that partners clients with animals — specifically goats and horses through her business Awakening with Equines. On the farm, Neligan has two horses, Phoenix and Celita and four goats. She hopes to add more horses soon, to give Phoenix and Celita a sense of community.
“Animals have a way of exposing us pretty quickly, so we can see ourselves. It works a lot faster than traditional therapy because you don’t have to talk your way into things suddenly … it just comes up really quick,” Neligan said.
Neligan doesn’t just focus on the problems of the past, as a coach she seeks to help patients find solutions to put into place. She does this by asking what qualities of the animals does the individual wants to take away and working with clients to build those qualities within themselves.
Seven years ago, Neligan began her own coaching with horses business, only adding goats to her sessions only since relocating to Longmont — three and half years ago.
Neligan has loved horses longer than she can remember. She grew up on the east coast where she learned to ride. As an adult she moved to Malibu, CA and not willing to be away from the equines for too long found a horse to lease. On the same farm as her horse, was group that helped addicts recover through working with horses.
Neligan joined the group as a mentee and learned and listened, she said.
“I realized after a year or so I really wanted to do this myself,” she said. Although she began working with those suffering from addiction, Neligan found her calling working with women who faced obstacles of loss, divorce, wantings of more meaningful careers and women in corporate settings.
Neligan uses the qualities of the horses and goats to teach women leadership and team-building skills. With a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology, she applies what she has learned in the classroom with “what the horses are naturally doing through their intuition,” to facilitate her sessions.
“I had one of those pivotal moments, where I saw what horses were doing for me and heard what they were doing for others. With addicts, they would literally come in and within two hours go from being disconnected and wanting to give up on life to having hope feeling more in their bodies and more grounded … That can take a long time elsewhere. It was through the power of the horse’s love and through some of the questions we ask as facilitators that people were starting to see themselves through life differently. I fell in love with it. I fell in love with how horses show up as teachers and healers,” she said.
Neligan observes how clients interact with her animals and the reactions of the animals to ask questions and provide guidance, she said.
“I meet people where they are. They are welcome to share what they want. I let the animals come and go as they want as well,” Neligan said.
While Neligan primarily works with women, she is also the author of several books, two of which will hit shelves in December and January. Animal Prints on Our Soul is about Neligan’s first mare who taught her how to lead with love as well as other stories of the impact animals have had on people’s lives. Animals: Personal Tales of Encounters with Spirit Animals is set for release in January. This book’s main author is Dr. Stephen Farmer and Neligan was able to include a piece on how donkeys have helped her with grief.
Neligan also is hosting a Sound Bath event on Dec. 21 from 2:30 to 4:30 on the farm, the location will be provided to those who register. Neligan will host a crystal singing bowl artist to play as participants are invited to focus on relaxation and restoration with the animals. Space is limited for the outdoor event. Registration will be posted on her Meetup page tomorrow.
“Sound has a certain frequency and can heal and can move stuck energy. The horses do similar work so we are going to pair the animals’ healing energy with the sound,” Neligan said.
