Approved Credit Hours for Students

The following information is current as of October 31, 2022

Students must complete a certain number of credit hours receiving personal sessions and obtaining consultations to enhance integration of the material on a personal and professional level.

The personal sessions may be therapeutic but are educational in nature and do not constitute formal psychotherapy, unless a student decides to embark on a process of formal psychotherapy with a particular provider (if relevant/available).

The individual consultations can be done to discuss cases as well as review theory and concepts.

The assignment consultations are to support students in completing the Level 1 and 2 assignments.

We encourage students to obtain sessions and consultations from a variety of providers so that they may benefit from their diverse experience, education, backgrounds, and styles. However, students may also opt to do some or all of their personal sessions with the same provider.

Level 1 Student Credit Hours

10 hours of personal Somatic Experiencing® sessions without equines
- Please view the SEI Credit Provider List to find an advanced-level approved provider in your area. If there is no one in your area, these sessions can be done remotely by video with any advanced-level approved provider anywhere in the world. Alternatively, please view the EQUUSOMA® directory for EQUUSOMA®-approved personal session providers.
6 hours of individual consultations with any EQUUSOMA®-approved consultation provider (the person must be pre-approved by EQUUSOMA® since the consultations must be focused on the equine-human context). Please see the EQUUSOMA® directory for listings.
4 hours of assignment consultations with EQUUSOMA® faculty or faculty-in-training (or approved assignment consultation provider, when available). These consultations are also in an individual format.

Level 2 Student Credit Hours

5 hours of personal Somatic Experiencing® sessions with* or without equines
- For sessions without equines: Please view the SEI Credit Provider List to find an advanced-level approved personal session provider in your area. If there is no one in your area, these sessions can be done remotely by video with any advanced-level approved provider anywhere in the world. Alternatively, please view the EQUUSOMA® directory for EQUUSOMA®-approved personal session providers.
- *For sessions with equines: Please view the EQUUSOMA® directory for EQUUSOMA®-approved personal session providers. Alternatively, these sessions can be completed with any advanced-level approved personal session provider in the SEI Credit Provider List who offers SE™ in relation to horses within their scope of practice (e.g., equine-assisted psychotherapy/learning, riding instruction, horsemanship coaching, animal communicator, equine bodyworker, animal death doula, equine behaviour consultant, etc.), provided that they apply SE™ to the equines as well.
  - Note: If this person is not an EQUUSOMA®-approved personal session provider or involved as an EQUUSOMA® training assistant (or if the person is a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner but is not yet approved for sessions at the Advanced level of SE™ training), please contact liaison@equusoma.com to discuss.
6 hours of individual consultations with any EQUUSOMA®-approved consultation provider. Please see the EQUUSOMA® directory for listings.
2 hours of assignment consultations with EQUUSOMA® faculty or faculty-in-training (or approved assignment consultation provider, when available). These consultations are also in an individual format.

Non-Approved Personal Session Providers

Personal SE™ sessions completed prior to our implementation of the advanced level SEI approval requirement on March 3, 2021 will still count, even if they were completed with a provider who no longer meets the requirements, as long as they meet the following timeframes:
- For EQUUSOMA® students without training in SE™: Personal SE™ sessions will count if completed within 3 years of the date of day 1 of beginning EQUUSOMA® Fundamentals I.
- For EQUUSOMA® students who are advanced level SE™ students or SEPs: For EQUUSOMA® students that have started the Advanced level of SE™ training or are SEPs, the personal SE™ sessions completed during the course of your SE™ training will count as credit towards your required hours for the EQUUSOMA® training, regardless of their level of SEI approval, due to the added experience you have gained via the SE™ training process.
- For EQUUSOMA® students who are active SE™ students (beginning and intermediate levels): If you want your SE™ sessions to count towards your EQUUSOMA® requirements, please select an SEI-approved personal session provider who is approved to provide sessions at the Advanced level of SE™ training. Even if you are only at the Beginning or Intermediate level of SE™ training, an Advanced level personal session provider can provide you with sessions at all levels. This way, you meet the requirements of both the SE™ and EQUUSOMA® training programs.

Personal SE™ sessions completed since March 3, 2021 with an SEP who does not meet the above criteria will not count towards the required total hours, except in cases of accessibility and diversity needs. For instance, personal SE™ sessions will still count if completed with a non-approved SEP:
- Who speaks your first language; and/or
- From your identity community (e.g., Black/Indigenous/People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, etc.);
- In person, if video sessions with an approved provider further away will pose undue physical hardship (e.g., having a disability or a brain injury making screen time difficult), or if video sessions are not possible because of being rural or remote without sufficient internet for video calls; and/or
- Who has offered you a sliding scale rate or pro bono sessions to accommodate severe financial limitations, and you have not managed to locate an approved provider who is able to offer similar accommodations.
Students who have completed sessions (or who intend to complete sessions) with a non-approved provider must contact us first to discuss and ensure they meet the parameters indicated above: liaison@equusoma.com. If you have located an SEP who offers services involving equines who is not currently involved with EQUUSOMA®, please bring this to our attention so that we can follow up to see if they might be interested and/or a good fit.

Double Duty Hours

EQUUSOMA® students who are also taking Somatic Experiencing® training simultaneously may be able to use the sessions they completed in one program to complete the requirements for the other program, thereby preventing duplication of time and costs related to personal sessions. This is only possible if the approved provider meets the requirements of both programs. Some EQUUSOMA®-approved providers are also SEI-approved providers. For instance:

Some EQUUSOMA®-approved providers are also SEI-approved for personal sessions and/or case consultations at either the Beginning, Intermediate, or Advanced level of SE™ training. However, students must make sure that the EQUUSOMA®-approved provider they select is SEI-approved at their current SE™ training level for the sessions and consults to count with SEI.
Some EQUUSOMA®-approved providers are not SEI-approved providers, meaning those sessions or consults would not count with SEI.
Any Advanced-level SEI-approved provider is able to provide personal SE™ sessions for EQUUSOMA® students (see caveats above pertaining to sessions involving equines).
Sessions completed with SEI-approved providers who are either approved at the Beginning or Intermediate levels (or who are not yet approved, and are simply SEPs) will only count towards the EQUUSOMA® training requirement in cases of accessibility and diversity, as outlined above.

Any consultations completed as part of SE™ training that pertained to equines will only count for EQUUSOMA® if completed with someone who is also an EQUUSOMA®-approved consultation provider, in order to ensure that the consultations align with the EQUUSOMA® material. Not everyone who is using SE™ in equine-human contexts is applying the ethology of SE™ to equines, or the process of SE™ to horse training and the equines themselves in various contexts.

Pre-requisite hours that are completed for EQUUSOMA® training might also count towards the certification requirements of other EAPL programs (for e.g., certification programs that require individuals to explore other models of EAPL as part of their learning or to attend sessions or workshops in EAPL for their own personal growth). These hours may also count towards regulatory or licensing body requirements that require professionals to demonstrate a certain number of personal growth and professional consultation hours per year. Students are responsible to looking into whether this applies to them.

Pricing

Approved providers set their own fees when offering services to students (such as make up time, personal SE™ sessions, and consultations), which reflect their respective degrees of experience and expertise, expenses, cost of living, and be comparable to other professionals offering similar services in their geographic regions.

Typical hourly rates range from $100 CAD ($75 USD) to $200 CAD ($145 USD), with some providers offering a sliding scale or pro bono services. Some providers are required to charge tax as well. In some cases, providers offer scholarship rates students who are facing financial limitations due to systemic barriers, students who are also attending post-secondary education, and under-employed individuals.

When personal sessions and consultations are available for students to sign up for during online modules or practical intensives (e.g., such as before class, on the longer break, or after class), those providing these services may choose to agree on a common fee, but this is not a requirement. If a common fee is chosen for the duration of the training module or practical intensive, professionals may resume charging their regular rate after the end of that particular module or practical intensive. Some professionals may need to charge taxes, while others do not.

Whether a team member charges their regular rate, a sliding scale rate, or a common rate agreed upon by the other professionals at a particular training, the fees must strive to reflect both a fair compensation for the professional’s service as well as affordability for students whose financial resources may vary. However, some team members may not currently have space available and there may be a waitlist involved in accessing services that are offered on a sliding scale or that are offered pro bono (without a fee).

Note:

Please review the new EQUUSOMA® Policy Handbook – Student and Practitioner Edition (58 pages), available as of October 31, 2022. This handbook summarizes into one location the various policies and parameters that we have adopted over the years into one organized document, along with updates and improvements that are in effect as of the date of publication. All prospective and current students should review this document prior to proceeding. This document is available by request by contacting info@equusoma.com or liaison@equusoma.com.

Trauma disrupts our ability to perceive safety, shapes our identity, and creates difficulty with connection in relationships with both self and others. Trauma-informed modalities are trending toward addressing three key channels of humanity in order to optimize healing; bottom-up, top-down, and relational. Somatic Experiencing paired with equine-assisted learning addresses all three. Healing comes with new lived experiences in the here-and-now that support integration within and between these channels. Horses are highly sensitive, relational beings that thrive on connection. They mirror our inner states without judgment or interpretation, so interacting with them through carefully crafted exercises can help us reclaim connection with ourselves while simultaneously connecting with another. Somatic Experiencing helps us reset the nervous system’s threat response cycle so we can self- and co-regulate, register a sense of wellbeing, and restore empowerment.

— Patricia Belleno, LPC-S, SEP (Texas)

My experiences with horses have been a key piece of integrating my own Somatic Experiencing work and learning. Their sensitivity to energy and the elements of our human experience that we often tune out makes them wonderful teachers. One of my favourite things to do is spending time in a field with a herd of horses and experiencing the magical interactions that unfold.

— Jessica Farrell, CPCC, ACC (London, UK)

I am passionate about the mammalian connection between horse and human and how we can co-regulate and partner with each other in the healthiest of ways. To relate on all levels of partnership — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Then to notice how these practices carry into our human relationships and roles. Not to mention how fun it is to “speak horse” — to understand a horse’s view and to recognize their ancient wisdom in the natural world. To feel into how this level of relationship is often missing in our modern world. To notice how trusting horses are of the human predator nature while being a natural prey animal.

— Kim McCourt, LMFT, SEP (California)

Somatic Experiencing provides a gentle and powerful mind/body approach to trauma resolution. Working in a natural, non-office, setting provides a “world” of resources to weave into sessions. The responsive presence and participation of the horse(s) in session provides an amazing connection to the client’s experience. They are agents of physiological change: as a mediator and expression of escalation and calming.

— Diana Akeret, LCSW, LCADC, SEP (New Jersey)

The restorative potential of combining somatic psychology and the relational dynamic of equine-assisted learning to foster resilience and greater well-being for people is very inspiring to me. I feel we each have an innate capacity for healing and wholeness. Horses are majestic beings that can ground us in the depths of our essence and teach us how to find our way back to what is authentic and true within our own lives and in community with others. I feel honored to team up with humans, horses and nature to facilitate the experience of authenticity, mutual respect and healing.

— Lynne Silver, MA, LPC-S, SEP, AAI (Texas)

The focus of all of my work is learning to become aware of and connect with our own presence and awareness: learning to track oneself within several realms, from the innermost center of the Self, through the multitude of layers within the physical body, continuing through to the energetic body as it extends outward. This provides an embodied experience that grounds us as we move through our world on a daily basis. This awareness allows our nervous system to settle, feel more regulated, and to make changes as needed to help keep us in balance with ourselves. Working with horses and Somatic Experiencing adds an element to our awareness by allowing us to receive connection and feedback from another being that lives in the present moment and is designed to be apart of a herd/group field. This gives each person a unique opportunity to see a reflection from the outside of their own being, as they meet in any given moment. Horses are wonderful teachers, their kindness and willingness to be in service to our learning is always a moving experience.

— Lauri Lind-White, CMT, SEP (California)