Riding the Waves of COVID-19: How Long Can Healthcare Workers Hold the Line?

During Mental Health Awareness Month, Experiential Learning Experts Advise It’s Time to Look Beyond Traditional Therapy

SHARON, CT / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2021 / The physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion frontline workers are enduring due to the pandemic is well documented. According to the ECRI Institute, suicide rates among doctors is 44% higher than the general population. 82% of healthcare workers report emotional exhaustion, 70% report trouble sleeping, 68% describe physical exhaustion, and according to MHA, 55% question their career path. These numbers add up to big trouble; for workers, providers, and patients. And now, hospital administrators state concerns over a possible 4th wave and how they can keep staff engaged, sharp, and avoiding deadly mistakes.

Jane Strong, SEP of The Equus Effect – an equine-assisted learning organization – says most of us are aware of the physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion frontline health workers have endured for the past 14 months. Still, few realize that they’ve been looking in the wrong place for relief. “Traditional talk therapy only goes so far. No one can persuade a person to not be exhausted or afraid. Until their nervous systems are settled, people can’t sleep, can’t feel confident, and certainly can’t think clearly.”

That’s where The Equus Effect comes in. For the past decade, the Connecticut-based not profit has been working with men and women who come from extremely high-stress environments. By employing experiential learning techniques, education through experience, clients are empowered with insights and tools that help them move beyond self-limiting attitudes and behaviors.

Although the practice may sound ambiguous, there is hard data to prove it works. The Equus Effect experts have graduated more than 1000 war veterans, first responders, and now frontline workers who vouch for the program’s effectiveness. A Sloan Kettering radiologist says this program is different. “It didn’t help me to dwell on the situation of losing patients in a support group. What helped me was to experience something that engaged all of my senses and gave me some tools I could share with my colleagues.”

Strong says that The Equus Effect teaches participants hands-on groundwork based on real horsemanship techniques, complemented by tools that build emotional and mental fitness for real-life situations. “Without addressing the body as well as the mind, nothing can change. Horses accelerate this process and directly impact clients’ ability to re-engage with renewed confidence and competence.”

About The Equus Effect
The Equus Effect is a proprietary experiential learning program where horses provide a bridge and safe passage to reveal the source – and solution – for both chronic stress and trauma. The mission is to provide veterans and others in high-stress environments with essential tools to meet life’s challenges and build healthy relationships through purposeful engagement with horses. Jane Strong, SEP, is The Equus Effect Co-Founder, Lead Facilitator, and Executive Director. For more information, visit theequuseffect.org.

For additional information, visit The Equus Effect Program on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and see their latest video.

CONTACT:
Jane Strong
(860) 364-9985
jstrong@theequuseffect.org

SOURCE: The Equus Effect

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