Special Project
Special Project: Dream Catchers Program
I developed and implemented the Dream Catchers program at Mending Arrow Ranch in Cleveland, TN to serve children and teens ages 2-16 who suffer from behavioral issues, anxiety, depression, and/or other emotional stressors or trauma. This program incorporates multiple evidence-based equine therapeutic services, trauma-based interventions, and mindfulness techniques to empower students by building self-confidence & self-esteem, and increasing assertiveness, patience, resilience, coping skills, and relationship skills. The Dream Catchers program is ongoing and I have provided the Founder/CEO of Mending Arrow Ranch, Kayla Davis, with the tools and research necessary to continue the program during upcoming semesters in my absence.
Social Issue Addressed
Mending Arrow Ranch provides free equine-assisted activities and services to children who experience a variety of physical, emotional, and cognitive limitations. The Ranch already had a program called Brave One that provided services to individuals with special needs including autism spectrum disorders (ASD), developmental delays, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, etc. It also had a program called 4 Directions for young ladies who were at risk or disadvantaged and experienced emotional and social issues.
Although the Brave One and 4 Directions programs were beneficial to eligible populations, there was a gap population that was not having their needs met. Many children applying for services at Mending Arrow Ranch had emotional/behavioral issues, but did not have any physical, developmental, or learning delays that would meet the criteria for the Brave One program. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), behavioral issues are more common among children ages 6-11 years old, and anxiety/depression is more common among children ages 12-17 years old (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2020).
Mending Arrow Ranch provides all services free of charge, and many of the children requesting emotional/behavioral health aid were unable to attend services elsewhere due to cost. Since so many children in this population were requesting admittance into Mending Arrow Ranch, Kayla Davis, the CEO/Founder of Mending Arrow Ranch, requested that I develop a program specifically to meet their needs. The Board of Directors at Mending Arrow Ranch and parents of the children were the main sponsors of this project.
Interventions
While developing and implementing the Dream Catchers program, I used many different 
equine-based trauma and mindfulness activities. The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) outlines that trauma-based care activities with clients should follow the six (6) R’s: Repetitive, Relational, Rhythmic, Relevant, Rewarding, and Respectful. I kept these concepts in mind when designing activities for the children, and obtained ideas for activities from the Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA). Behavioral and emotional issues such as anger, anxiety, decreased self-esteem, impatience, and trauma were targeted with interventions specifically designed for each individual student on a case-by-case basis. SMART Goals were created at the beginning of the semester to allow the student, parent(s), and instructors develop an individualized learning plan for each student. Although interventions were designed for each individual student, all the students were taught body language and social cues with the horses that they were later able to implement in their everyday social lives. They were also taught mindfulness techniques such as deep breathing exercises, being “present” in the here-and-now, and developing senses/listening skills in an environment with minimal interference.
Sessions always started with groundwork which allowed students to develop a relationship with the horse. Relationship-building is extremely important with children experiencing trauma and/or behavioral/emotional issues. The nonverbal communication, herd mentality, sensitivity, and “mirroring” abilities of horses allows them to be ideal candidates for building relationships with children who have difficulty trusting based on past experiences. By designating the same horse and instructor for each session, it provided stability and an opportunity to build a stronger trust relationship with the students. Students would slowly work their way up to riding which would help enhance their bond with the horse they were working with and help improve self-confidence. Farm chores were required after each session in order to help students develop work ethic and this provided an opportunity for instructors to challenge negativity and poor conduct in the students to improve behavioral issues.
Mission: The mission of Mending Arrow Ranch is to “connect a horse and a child to achieve the goals of mending and redeeming hearts, minds, bodies, and souls”. The mission for the Dream Catchers program was to expand the overall mission of the organization to include children with behavioral and emotional issues.
Goals: The goal of this project was to equip children with the skills necessary to deal with the trauma and emotional/behavioral issues they were facing in their lives.
Theoretical Perspectives: Concepts of relationship-building and present-awareness were used as foundations of the Dream Catchers program. The Equine-Based Mindfulness (EBM) Model of Therapy was used to provide mindfulness techniques to clients while utilizing horses in the process. Another perspective used was the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) developed by Dr. Bruce Perry. This model incorporates neurological functioning in children with their emotional functioning and behaviors. Another perspective used was the Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) Model of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy. This model of therapeutic activities incorporates principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and adventure-based therapy in an effort to encourage clients to become aware of their challenges and work towards overcoming those challenges.
Limitations
One of the major limitations to the project was the COVID-19 outbreak. The program was designed to last for 10 weeks, but due to COVID-19 restrictions and student safety, was started seven (7) weeks late. Many students opted out of the program all together due to personal health conditions or family members that were immunocompromised. Even with the limitations, I was still able to fully design the program and implemented it with six (6) of the students as they were able for four (4) weeks. Another limitation was the lack of a fully licensed mental health professional on staff, and activities were created in a way that could be used in the scope of practice of instructors available.
Results
The activities and progress of each student was documented by the instructors after each session. Session paperwork included skills learned, groundwork activities, riding activities, mindfulness activities, and ranch chores that were done by the student during the session. Each category was noted whether the student performed the activity independently, with vocal assistance, not there yet, or not willing. Conduct of the student during the session was 
also documented as excellent, good, needs improvement, or uncontrollable. Strengths and limitations were discussed as well as areas to focus on in the next session.
Groundwork Session Notes
Level 1 Mounted Session Notes
Level 2 Mounted Session Notes
For the purposes of this project, I utilized the Goal Attainment Scoring (GAS) tool to evaluate progress of each student over the course of the semester. The GAS tool allows qualitative data to be converted into quantitative data by assigning numerical values and mathematical algorithms to the goals of each student. I utilized the SMART goals developed by each student at the beginning of the semester and developed a baseline score. Weight was applied to each goal by determining the importance and difficulty of each goal. I then evaluated whether the student met the goals as expected, somewhat less than expected, much less than expected, somewhat more than expected, or much more than expected and assigned numerical values to each ranging from -2 to +2, with 0 being as expected. Using the mathematical formula provided, I calculated the baseline score, outcome score, and changes for each student over the course of the semester. I averaged the changes in scores from the beginning of the semester to the end of the semester, which showed a 19.13 increase overall. This shows that each of the students did have improvement and met their SMART goals in the Dream Catchers program at some level, with some students having greater improvement than others.
Conclusions
Since the semester was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the GAS scores are most likely lower than they could have been had the students been able to continue through the entire semester. The addition of a mental health professional on staff could allow the program to expand and grow in the services provided and would allow for better care of individuals with mental and behavioral issues. Many children with behavioral issues also have difficulty socializing, and incorporating group sessions as well as individual sessions may allow instructors to view strengths and challenges the students have when socializing and improve relationship skills. These recommendations have been discussed and will hopefully be able to be incorporated into the program in the near future.
*Pictures were taken with permission from the Mending Arrow Ranch Facebook page and Website
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Competencies Demonstrated
Competency 1: Ethics and Professionalism
The research I conducted when developing the Dream Catchers program was ethical and evidence-based. I utilized supervision and worked closely with my field and task supervisors throughout the development of the project to discuss ideas and challenges as they arose. I demonstrated professional written skills by documenting session notes and developing intake forms that were used in the program.
Competency 2: Diversity
Each student is unique and I addressed diversity by adjusting the sessions accordingly for each student’s specific need(s). I met with each student’s parents prior to starting sessions and discussed cultural, mental, emotional, and behavioral aspects that were relevant to conducting sessions.
Competency 3: Human Rights and Justice
The Dream Catchers program was developed in an effort to provide services to children with behavioral/emotional issues whose needs were not being met in the community. These students were unable to attend other services due to a variety of factors including access, stigma, and/or economic issues. Some of the students came from families living in poverty and this program was offered free of charge.
Competency 4: Research
I conducted extensive research on evidence-based and best practices when developing the Dream Catchers program. I researched different evidence-based frameworks and interventions that would be beneficial to my clients, as outlined under Competency 6: Engagement. Best practices, such as Equine-Based Mindfulness (EBM) techniques were incorporated into the program as well. I also reached out to students and assessed applications to see what services they would benefit from the most.
Competency 5: Policy
When the COVID-19 outbreak happened, I adapted the Dream Catchers program to fit into a shorter time-frame and to follow health recommendations. I communicated with the parents of the children in the program to make them aware of changes as they happened and discussed upcoming policy changes including health precautions.
Competency 6: Engagement
I researched and utilized multiple frameworks when engaging with clients including Natural Lifemanship, EAGALA, PATH Intl., NMT, CBT, and EBM. I engaged with systems by interviewing a few individuals who currently provide equine-assisted mental health services to victims of sex trafficking and individuals with mental and behavioral health issues. The techniques and tools found through my research were implemented into the program.
Competency 7: Assessment
I used variety of diagnostic tools when developing the intake forms and questionnaires for the Dream Catchers program including ACEs, child services questionnaires, etc. I also developed a SWOT analysis for the Dream Catchers program during the planning phase that assessed possible strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the program.
ACE Parent-Child ; ACE Parent-Teen ; ACE Teen-Self
Intake Ages 2-5 ; Intake Ages 6-18
Checklist Ages 2-5 ; Checklist Ages 6-18
Dream Catchers SWOT Analysis
Competency 8: Intervention
I implemented the evidence-based interventions that I had researched into the Dream Catchers program. Students attended 60-minute sessions once per week, and each individual session was tailored to the student’s specific needs. I advocated for services in the community and discussed possible interventions with individuals from multiple behavioral health organizations.
Competency 9: Evaluation
I evaluated the efficacy of different programs and interventions throughout my research and planning phase, and utilized my findings to determine whether or not the interventions would be incorporated into the program. I also evaluated the efficacy of the Dream Catchers overall by utilizing the Goal Attainment Scoring (GAS) tool. This tool allowed me to determine whether students had reached their SMART goals as expected, less than expected, or more than expected.