In addition to her involvement with horses, Kate is also Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) and certified special education teacher in the state of Arkansas. Kate specializes in working with children and adolescents ages 5-21. Common issues include poor coping skills, various Adjustment Disorders, Reactive-Attachment Disorder (RAD), and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, clients can learn how to cope with common developmental changes and emotional events that cause temporary stress and poor life choices.
Although standard therapy is an option, Kate is always open to using her horses as a therapeutic tool to help anyone who seeks her services. People often find it easier to become more self aware all while enjoying the pleasure of working with the Arabian horse. A horse's behavior is often a direct reflection of what thier handlers do and feel, so they are amazing teachers as they are non-judgemental and do not have the capacity to inject shame, guilt, transferrence / counter-transferrence, or revenge into the therapeutic relationship.
Kate will be using her gelding, SSA Inshallah and some mares for this work, and may be adding some more SE geldings to the mix from another farm, but that is still in its infancy. There is a growing demand for mental health services and here at Van Alma Arabians, we hope to provide these services in a professional and innovative manner that produces positive results for clients.