Grow with Viva Equine Therapy Sunshine Coast

Services

At Viva Equine, we offer a range of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) services designed to support emotional wellbeing, personal growth, and the development of meaningful life skills.

Our approach combines the unique qualities of horses, the therapeutic benefits of nature, and evidence-informed practices to create engaging, supportive, and individualised experiences for children, young people, and adults.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is a therapeutic approach in which qualified counsellors and mental health professionals partner with horses to support psychological and emotional wellbeing.

Horses are highly sensitive to their environment, body language, and non-verbal communication. Their natural responses can provide valuable opportunities for developing self-awareness, exploring emotions, recognising behavioural patterns, and understanding how we relate to ourselves and others.

At Viva Equine, EAP is integrated into professional counselling and psychotherapy to support individuals experiencing challenges such as anxiety, depression, trauma, emotional dysregulation, relationship difficulties, and other mental health concerns.

Through meaningful interactions with horses, clients are supported to explore their experiences, develop coping strategies, strengthen emotional regulation, and reconnect with their personal values, strengths, and sense of self.

Our approach is trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, and tailored to each individual's needs, abilities, and therapeutic goals.

Equine Assisted Learning (EAL)

Equine Assisted Learning focuses on developing practical life skills, social awareness, emotional regulation, confidence, and personal growth through structured interactions with horses.

Horses provide opportunities for experiential learning, allowing participants to explore communication, boundaries, trust, leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, and relationship-building in a supportive and engaging environment.

Through activities such as observing herd dynamics, grooming, leading horses, and navigating obstacle courses, participants can practise new skills and reflect on how these experiences relate to everyday situations.

EAL can be particularly beneficial for individuals seeking to develop greater confidence, independence, resilience, social connections, and emotional awareness.

Unlike EAP, which involves deeper therapeutic exploration of mental health and psychological challenges, EAL primarily focuses on learning, skill development, and personal growth.

The Healing Benefits of Horses and Nature

At Viva Equine, we believe that meaningful connections with horses and nature can create powerful opportunities for reflection, learning, and personal growth.

Our sessions take place in the beautiful natural surroundings of Mooloolah Valley on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, offering a peaceful and welcoming alternative to traditional indoor therapeutic settings.

The outdoor environment, combined with the calming presence of horses, can support emotional regulation, reduce stress, encourage mindfulness, and create opportunities for connection.

All our activities are ground-based, with no horse riding involved.

Sessions are carefully tailored to each participant's individual needs, preferences, abilities, and goals, with safety, choice, and emotional wellbeing at the centre of our approach.

Whether you are seeking professional counselling, emotional support, or opportunities to develop new skills, our team is here to help you explore your strengths, navigate life's challenges, and work towards a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

New to Equine Assisted Therapy?

We offer a free 30-minute meet and greet, giving you the opportunity to meet our team and horses, explore our beautiful property, ask questions, and discover whether our services are right for you.

Connect. Explore. Grow. Thrive.

www.vivaequine.com.au

Equine Assisted Therapy

Equine Assisted Therapy is an evidence-based experiential approach to counselling. Clients work in collaboration with horses and specialised counsellors to achieve their goals.

Equine Assisted Therapy can be beneficial in assisting clients with:
Neurodiversity including autism and ADHDTraumaMental health problems including depression and anxietyEmotional RegulationRelationship ProblemsCommunication skillsSocial skillsBehavioural ProblemsBody image problemsSelf-esteem and confidenceGrief and lossCareer changeDisabilitiesParentingSelf-discoveryEmpowerment

Life and Social Skills

Learn social and life skills in a fun and unique way with the help of a horse!

Our Life and Social Skills programs focus on:

Team work
Relationships
Friendship
Communication skills
Problem solving skills
Self-esteem and confidence skills

Programs are tailored to participants' goals and are suitable for groups or one-on-one. Group programs generally run from 1 to 12 sessions in accordance with your group’s needs.

Keep me Safe

Keep me Safe is a Protective Behaviours Program that employs horses to teach children personal safety skills. It helps them to understand their body, their feelings and what to do if they are worried or harmed.

Children will learn to:

- Name their body parts

- Identify and speak about their feelings

- Identify warning signs our bodies give us in situations of risk or harm

- Understand their rights as children

- Identify a safe network of people and services they can talk to if they need to.

We can offer these workshops to families, groups, childcare centres, kindergartens and schools.

We also run this program for home-schooled children.

Youth and Anti-Bullying

Horses have a powerful capacity to help young people to look at themselves with compassion and to create meaningful and lasting change in their lives. This program helps participants with:

Communication
Healthy relationships
Bullying
Self-esteem
Understanding and setting boundaries
Confidence
Isolation
Risk taking behaviours

This program can be tailored to meet specific participant specific goals and needs.

Women's Empowerment

Women continue to face challenges in our society. These experiences can leave women feeling disempowered and doubting themselves in their lives, relationships and work. Our program addresses these issues and is suitable for women:

Dealing with the impacts of violence and coercive control in their lives
Who have recently left violent relationships
Who are looking for ways to re-establish a sense of strength, competence and resilience

Relationship Coaching

This program is designed to assist you and your partner to build or refine the skills you need to live in partnership and love with each other. It is suitable for couples facing a range of struggles including:

Conflict
Grief and loss
Communication issues
Infidelity
Transition and change
Relationship issues

You will work together with each other, your counsellor and Monte to build a stronger and more resilient relationship.

Team Building

We offer unique team building programs tailored to develop your team’s potential!

Whether you are after specific skill development or just a day full of fun for your team, we have the program for you. With the help of the horses, this program is an unforgettable and unique experience where your team will be exposed to challenges and encouraged to negotiate these as a group. These sessions provide scope for reflection and the development of team resources and strengths.

Our program can help with:

Team communication
Conflict resolution
Collaboration
Inclusion
Trust
Communication
Strengthening team's relationship
Problem solving

Life Coaching Session

Life throws many surprises at us, and while we cannot predict the outcome of any situation, we can control how we respond to situations. With a horse as a coach, you will learn about acceptance and how to exert your power of choice over whatever life may throw at you.