Evaluation of an equine-assisted therapy program for veterans who identify as ‘wounded, injured or ill’ and their partners
The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes of an equine-assisted therapy program for Defence Force veterans and their partners across the psychological domains of depression, anxiety, stress, posttraumatic stress, happiness, and quality of life, as well as compare the outcomes of an Individual and Couples program. Participants were recruited from ten programs in 2016 with a total of 47 veterans and partners from both an Individual program and a Couples program. Results revealed that within both the Individual and Couples programs, there were significantly fewer psychological symptoms and significantly greater levels of happiness and quality of life at post-intervention compared to pre-intervention. Reduced psychological symptoms were maintained at the three months follow-up for participants of the Couples program only. These results indicate there may only be meaningful benefits for equine-assisted therapy in the reduction of depression, stress, and PTSD symptoms for veterans, if partners are integrated into the intervention.