Equine assisted therapy is counselling delivered outdoors, working alongside horses.

At Berkman Academy every session is run by a registered counsellor, and the methods underneath are the same evidence-based approaches you'd find in a counselling room, ACT and CBT, delivered through movement and doing rather than sitting and talking.

The horses are part of the work. They read emotion and intention in an instant and respond to whatever the person brings. That gives honest, real-time feedback you can't get from talk alone.

No. All of our work is ground-based. There is no riding, ever.

Sessions involve grooming, leading and light groundwork with the horse. No horse experience is needed.

Sessions run for 50 minutes, one-on-one with the counsellor.

You get to know the horses at your own pace, and the work builds from there toward your own goals.

The difference from regular counselling: you work on things in the session, not after it. You do something, the horse responds, you adjust, and you get a better response back. In real time.

Yes. Sessions are delivered by a registered counsellor and member of the Australian Counselling Association.

It's counselling, just outdoors and moving around instead of sitting indoors. The horse is a clinical asset, not a gimmick.

This is exactly who we built it for.

Many of our clients tried a counsellor or psychologist first and it didn't connect.

Private sessions are $175 + GST per 50 minutes.

A 3-session package is $155 + GST per session, and the same rate applies with a concession card.

Counselling with a registered counsellor isn't covered by Medicare. Some private health funds rebate counselling, so it's worth checking with your fund.

Kids, teens and adults. Many of our clients are navigating autism, ADHD, anxiety, trauma, or emotional regulation and behavioural challenges.

We also work with veterans and first responders, and we run group programs for schools, youth services and community organisations.

No. You don't need a GP referral, a mental health plan or a diagnosis to book.

We don't work from diagnoses anyway. We work with the person in front of us.

It varies with the person and the goal.

Most clients come weekly or fortnightly. Some families notice change within a few weeks, and deeper change usually builds over two to three months of consistent sessions.

We review progress with you as we go.

Yes. Sessions are ground-based, one-on-one, and run by a qualified counsellor who holds a Working with Children Check.

Our horses are chosen for their calm, steady temperament, and everything happens at the client's pace. Nobody is pushed toward a horse before they're ready.

Yes, for plan-managed and self-managed participants.

Sessions are claimable under Improved Daily Living (Counselling), line item 15_043_0128_1_3, at $156.16 per 50-minute session.

Where a participant's goals and plan support it, sessions can also be claimed under Innovative Community Participation, line item 09_008_0116_6_3, at $186.16 per session.

We work with plan-managed and self-managed participants only, not agency-managed.

Our main centre is at 271 Bayswater Rd, Bayswater North, in Melbourne's outer east.

Families come to us from Ringwood, Croydon, Bayswater, Boronia, Wantirna, Lilydale, Mooroolbark and across the Knox, Maroondah and Yarra Ranges areas.

We also run group programs at Upper Beaconsfield.

Closed-toe shoes and clothes that suit the weather. Everything happens outdoors, so think sunscreen and a hat in summer, and warm layers in winter.

We run in most Melbourne weather, and some of the best sessions happen in drizzle. If conditions make a session unsafe or unworkable, we'll offer another time.

Fill in the contact form, email hello@berkmanacademy.com.au, or call 0405 689 210. Tamir replies personally with a couple of session times that suit. Sessions run on weekdays.

Parents and carers are welcome to stay during sessions. Living with ADHD and wondering how counselling fits? There's more detail on our ADHD Counselling FAQ.