When was the last time your teen opened up about their struggles? Teens, especially those with ADHD, don’t always want to sit down and talk about their struggles. It's awkward. Their body language shifts. They clam up and wiggle in their seat. So we don't ask. We move them around, take them outside, introducing them to a horse. We relax, calm, and focus on our breathing. We embody safety, trust and space. We don't push for results, vulnerability or outcomes. Instead, we use m

We have two therapists on the team who don't charge. They work for some food. They eat weeds and they're very pleased with themselves. The goats are usually the first stop at Berkman Academy. Kids who won't talk, nervous, never been near a farm, they all end up smiling within 15 seconds. That matters. Because what happens after the goats is often something much bigger. Safety, confidence, self- awareness, self-regulation and much more. But it all starts with getting our nervo

Every therapy session ends in "didn't engage"? That's not the child failing. That's the format failing the child. Some kids can't sit in a chair across from a stranger and perform wellness. They can't make eye contact on demand. They can't find the words when someone's waiting for them. Put them next to a horse and something different happens. No social rules to get wrong. No right answer to give. No therapist face to read for cues. Just an animal that responds honestly to wh

"They're very shy. Might not participate at all." Their mum wasn't sure either of them would go near the horse. By the end, both of them were smiling, touching Dexter and loving it. We started with the goats. Feeding them with a branch, then from their hands. One of the brothers took the lead straight away. Then we walked over to Dexter. They were hesitant. We all slowed down, look first, then maybe move closer, then maybe touch. By the end, one of them introduced himself to

A nonverbal young person wouldn't get out of the car. He moved his hands a lot, unsettled in the back seat. This was clearly out of his comfort zone. Out of his normal routine. His support team and I set up chairs. We put his favorite snack on one of them. I washed Dexter with a sponge near the fence so he could hear the water. He went quiet. He watched. He smiled. He never got out of the car. He never touched the horse. By most measures, nothing happened. His support team co

Most support coordinators have been saying no to equine therapy requests for over a year. They thought it wasn't funded anymore and they're right. But Equine Assisted Therapy, delivered by a qualified counsellor, is still funded. The distinction is real, and most coordinators don't know about it. Got a participant who loved horses? You can say yes! Got a participant who is nonverbal? You can say yes! Got a participant who hates sitting in a room? You can say yes! We bill unde

They're mothers every single day. Doing chores, running errands, taking care of, being a nurse, a wife, an event planner and much more. They often talk about it. In sessions, on the phone, with friends over coffee. And that helps. But something different happens when they come here. When they step into the arena and stand next to a horse. They don't have to talk about it. They don't need to explain themselves. They don't have to "hold it together". They're not anyone's mum, a

Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) is often misunderstood. It ’s sometimes dismissed as “less evidence-based” than traditional talk therapies. In reality, EAT draws directly from the same foundations as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). At Berkman Academy, horses provide a living, responsive environment where clients don’t just talk about change, they practice it. Why It Matters Traditional talk therapy focuses on discussion and reflect

If you’re parenting a child with ADHD, your kid probably sat through therapy sessions that expected them to: Sit still. Answer questions. Talk about feelings and throughts. For many teens, this is the opposite of what they need or want. Instead of building skills in a inquisitive, playful and instinctive way, they come away feeling frustrated and misunderstood. They shut down, looking at the floor and fidgeting their fingers. So we flip the approach. Instead of “sit down,”

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Equine-assisted therapy has been gaining popularity in recent years as an effective way to support individuals in achieving their...