*Page last updated on July 26, 2026
Prospective Students
Current Students (coming soon)
Like the Somatic Experiencing® training process offered through Somatic Experiencing® International, EQUUSOMA® offers a certificate of completion. Neither are a certification. This is in keeping with Canadian and international standards that call for a clear separation between those offering training and those offering certification: ISO/IEC 17024 - Conformity Assessment, General Requirements for Bodies Operating Certification of Persons
Certification Standards
Certification should not be provided by trainers or training organizations themselves, but by an independent professional association, in order to avoid conflicts of interest and also to set a higher bar around what constitutes a "certification". Because this standard is not consistently applied, there is an astounding amount of variety in the length, quality, and calibre of "certifications" that are available, which cheapens the value of what a certification should be about. As a result, there are certifications that claim to qualify someone to perform a particular role after only a few days, which is problematic on a number of levels. Conversely, there are certificate programs that are far more lengthy, thorough, and of higher quality than some certifications.What's In a Name?
The word "certification" is currently not a guarantee of effectiveness, reputability, or validity - it's a bit of a free for all and the term has become less meaningful as a result. Unfortunately, people who want to fast track their way into a career (without doing the work involved to practice with integrity, ethically, and competently) can do so because of the lack of consistency around what constitutes a certification. A third party certification involves an application process, an assessment of competence through formal evaluation methods, a decision as to whether an individual is certified or certifiable, and requirements for maintaining certification or re-certification. A certification also involves guidelines around the use of the certificate, logo, trademark, and related designation, if applicable. Training is not listed in the ISO/IEC standard of what constitutes a certification - it is a separate process. Whether or not a training leads to a "certification" is not an indicator of said training's value, quality, practical application, effectiveness, or worth in preparing someone for a particular role. For more about this issue, please read the following article by Sue McIntosh, "The Certification Conundrum".As outlined in the previous answer, the EQUUSOMA® training does not "certify" anyone. For professional stream students, the training program offers a nuanced deep dive into rich and complex areas of theory and practice that can expand their existing scope of practice and service delivery through enhanced awareness and skillfulness. For personal stream students, the material learned in the program can deepen their own awareness and provide greater clarity, understanding, and options to consider in relation to the equine(s) in their world.
Scope of Practice
The EQUUSOMA® training offerings do not qualify anyone to call themselves a trauma therapist, psychotherapist, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, equine behaviour specialist, horse trainer, and so on. Students and professionals should check with their provincial/state and federal governing bodies and laws to ensure they are complying with standards of practice and legislation governing their profession. Professionals are expected to incorporate EQUUSOMA® in their work in accordance with their scope of practice. For instance, EQUUSOMA® will look different when used by a mental health professional, a life coach, a horse trainer, an equine behaviour consultant, a riding instructor, an equine bodyworker, and so on. For more information about student streams and scope of practice requirements, click here (Letter and A4).Limits of Competence
Each training participant is responsible for identifying what material they can apply in their scope of practice. Not all material taught in the training will be possible for everyone to apply in the context of their work. Adapting the material based on your scope and context may be required. Everyone who takes EQUUSOMA® training will have a different level of skill, confidence, and integration of the material by the end of the program. This is because everyone has a different nervous system capacity, personality, history of risk and resiliency factors, and current circumstances that influence their learning process. Completing the EQUUSOMA® training is not a guarantee of a particular level of competence; further consultation, personal sessions, and learning may be required to support further integration of the material into one's way of being and doing. Continuing education and lifelong learning are required to develop mastery in any particular area of specialty.Cross-Training and Co-Facilitation
Working with people and equines together in any capacity is nuanced and complex. While some professionals offer services by themselves (as a result of having sufficient cross-training and experience in working with humans and equines), others work in a co-facilitation team. EQUUSOMA® supports both models of practice. Co-facilitation is also typically required when offering group programs to ensure enough safety, containment, and monitoring is available for all humans and equines involved. Participating in EQUUSOMA® training with a service delivery partner (if you work in a team model) or with a group of colleagues to ensure consistency and integration in service delivery is encouraged. Discounts are available. Bear in mind that there are as many approaches to horsemanship as there are to therapy, and not all horsemanship methods take the horse’s biology, personality, needs, and psychology into consideration. Signing up for the EQUUSOMA® training with your intended co-facilitator is a great way to ensure you are on the same page and speaking the same language as you start working together.Consultations and Personal Sessions
Students must complete a number of personal sessions of Somatic Experiencing® as well as consultations with EQUUSOMA®-approved professionals to deepen integration of the material, support learning, and foster nervous system repatterining and relational attunement. Growing one's scope of practice in any area takes time and commitment. While these are a requirement of the Certificate Track, students who are not on the Certificate Track are still encouraged to complete some personal sessions and consultations in support of their integration of the material.Recognition
The Schlote Psychotherapy Professional Corporation and its agents or representatives make no promises or guarantees as to the recognition, regulation, or accreditation of EQUUSOMA®, the title “EQUUSOMA® Practitioner”, or any such designation within any jurisdiction in Canada or abroad.EQUUSOMA® trainings are offered with the gracious permission and licensing approval of Somatic Experiencing® International (SEI). This license allows the teaching of Somatic Experiencing® skills and principles and use of its intellectual property and trademark in the context of the EQUUSOMA® training. EQUUSOMA® is not an equivalent to the Somatic Experiencing® training, which are separate processes. For more details about the similarities and differences between the two programs, click here (Letter and A4).
EQUUSOMA® training was originally intended to be one of SEI's post-advanced certificate offerings for its students. The planning discussions with and proposal sent to SEI in 2016 were developed with this in mind. Since submitting this proposal and preparing the curriculum, SEI has started re-designing its post-advanced certificate program, which is on hold until further notice. For more information about the Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner training program, visit www.traumahealing.com
Yes, absolutely. For instance, personal stream students might not have an equine in their lives at the moment but may still be interested in exploring the material in relation to their previous experiences with equines or in preparation for resuming involvement with equines. However, this program is not intended for members of the general public who have no equine experience whatsoever.
However, professional stream students must be actively working in their scope of practice in a setting that is equine related while they are in the EQUUSOMA® program. This allows them to apply and explore the material they have learned with humans and equines as the program progresses, given that the modules build on one another. Working in one's professional scope of practice includes both paid and unpaid work. Examples of unpaid work within one's scope of practice can include offering pro-bono services, volunteering, internships or practicum placements, etc. Individuals who are interested in the program who are not currently working in their intended scope of practice, and/or who do not have an equine-related context within which to apply the material, are ineligible for the program.
For more details about personal and professional stream eligibility criteria and expectations, click here (Letter and A4).
EQUUSOMA® is about fostering trauma recovery for equines and humans in a wide variety of scopes of practice. EQUUSOMA® does not promote any one particular approach, and is more of a paradigm or broader umbrella. As a result, our training emphasizes skills and principles from a number of sources that can be incorporated into different approaches and equine-human professions to be more trauma-informed. It is less about which approach and more about how to adapt them and your scope of practice based on an understanding of ethology, somatics, attachment, and related neuroscience.
For instance, equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning, equine bodywork, the Humane Hierarchy, natural/relational horsemanship, and clicker training (among other scopes of practice) can all be adapted based on the broad teachings and nuances that EQUUSOMA® provides.
Principles and Ethics
EQUUSOMA® was developed in alignment with the principles and code of ethics of the Professional Association for Equine-Facilitated Wellness (PRO-EFW), which prioritizes the well-being of the horse in equine interaction programs and promotes trauma-informed practice. Our Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice are in development.Integrative Toolkits
Best practices in trauma-informed care promote an integrative approach, involving different modalities and approaches that can be combined to best meet complex needs. It is not recommended to be a “one-trick pony” in the field of trauma recovery, regardless of species. EQUUSOMA® provides knowledge and skills to enhance existing ways of being and doing the work.EQUUSOMA® holds the perspective that equine-assisted interventions (EAI) as well as other equine-related activities or services that are intended primarily for humans should at minimum do no harm and at best do good – for the animals and the humans participating in the experience. Healing, growth, pastimes, and achievement should not occur for one at the expense of the other. EQUUSOMA® promotes principles of trauma-informed care and an understanding of mammalian nervous systems and mammalian attachment needs through a trauma lens, which are applied to all – whether two- or four-legged. In other words, while EAI and other equine-related services that are typically focused on the humans as the primary clients, EQUUSOMA® holds that the equines' trauma and attachment histories, nervous system patterning, ethological conditions and needs, and other individual factors are just as important, and that any renegotiation and repair work intended for the human client would also consider what conditions, needs, renegotiation, and repair might be required or beneficial for the participating equines (whether before delivering EAI or in the context of the EAI themselves).
The reverse is also true: any service that is focused mainly on the equine as the primary client (e.g., veterinary care, equine bodywork, etc.) will also consider the humans' trauma and attachment histories, nervous system patterning, conditions and needs, and other individual factors as part of the equation, and that any renegotiation and repair work intended for the equine client would also consider that which might be required or beneficial for the humans involved.
And, of course, services that focus on both the human and the equine as the joint 'client' (e.g., horse training, equine behaviour consultation, riding, etc.), will consider both equally as outlined above.
In EQUUSOMA®, the equine is not a tool. The equine is also not a magic unicorn or a mirror. And the equine is certainly not a co-therapist or co-facilitator. Equines are equines - an equal participant in the relational process, with the right to choose, to voice an opinion, to say no, and to walk away. Like us, horses, donkeys, mules, and hinnies are sentient beings with a nervous system, history, personality, attachment patterns, coping mechanisms, and ancestral inheritances, who offer us the potential for relationships. And relationships are where we get to learn about ourselves and others, experience and offer co-regulation and develop self-regulation, explore our relational patterns, management strategies, and nervous system survival responses, as well as repair attachment ruptures and renegotiate trauma -- whether in the context of EAI or other services or activities that bring equines and humans together, regardless of who the identified primary client is.
1. Somatic Experiencing®
Somatic Experiencing® is a registered trademark of the Foundation for Human Enrichment (administered through Somatic Experiencing® International), in the US, Canada, and other countries. Individuals who are in the process of completing (or who have completed) the EQUUSOMA® training program may not call themselves Somatic Experiencing® Practitioners or claim that they are trained in or offering Somatic Experiencing® unless they have done that training as well. The two processes are separate. It is, however, possible to explain that EQUUSOMA® itself is an approach that is grounded in Somatic Experiencing®. SEI has advised that terms like "Equine-Assisted Somatic Experiencing®" constitute trademark infringement and are not permitted. Individuals who are not trained in EQUUSOMA® but have taken or completed Somatic Experiencing® training and have the requisite additional scopes of practice could describe their work as "Somatic Experiencing® and equine-assisted psychotherapy" or "Somatic Experiencing® with horses" or "Somatic Experiencing®-based horsemanship", and so on.2. EQUUSOMA®
EQUUSOMA® is a registered trademark of the Sarah Schlote and the Schlote Psychotherapy Professional Corporation in Canada, the USA, the EU, and Australia. Individuals who are in the process of completing (or have completed) the Somatic Experiencing® training program may not call themselves EQUUSOMA® Practitioners or claim that they are trained in or offering EQUUSOMA® unless they have done that training as well. The two processes are separate. Individuals who are trained in Somatic Experiencing® and offer equine-assisted interventions of various kinds may not call their work EQUUSOMA® unless they have undertaken the EQUUSOMA® training specifically. An individual who has not taken EQUUSOMA® training but has read about the model and tries to incorporate its principles into their work may indicate that they use certain skills and frameworks inspired by EQUUSOMA®, but not claim to be "trained" in the method or offering EQUUSOMA® sessions.3. Licensing
Completing EQUUSOMA® training does not allow people to provide training in EQUUSOMA® to others or to use EQUUSOMA® training materials in developing their own training, as this would constitute both trademark and copyright infringement. A formal faculty train the trainer process must be completed in order to obtain a license to teach EQUUSOMA® Individuals who have completed EQUUSOMA® training, faculty, faculty in training, and approved providers may be granted a revocable license to use the methods and materials in the context of their direct client work (sessions, lessons, group workshops, private intensives, etc.), with proper citation. Individuals who wish to provide an introductory presentation about EQUUSOMA® to inform others about the model and how they incorporate it in their work must submit a request to info@equusoma.com to obtain approval of their presentation materials and licensing approval at least 1 month prior to the date of the presentation. A licensing fee applies to those wishing to provide such presentations. The Schlote Psychotherapy Professional Corporation reserves the right to approve or deny any application for a license, and that these these licenses are revocable at the sole and unfettered discretion of Sarah Schlote and the Schlote Psychotherapy Professional Corporation.The total cost of the training will vary depending on a number of factors:
- Whether you are attending Level 1 (online) or Level 2 (mix of online and in person)
- Whether or not you register independently at the full rate or with a co-facilitator or a group at a discounted rate;
- Whether the training is held in Canada (provincial tax applies) or internationally (the cost of travel and accommodations for the facilitation team needs to be considered);
- The rental rate and fees associated with using different equine facilities as venues;
- Your payment method and any associated handling fees;
- The hourly rates of the various personal session and consultation providers you hire and whether or not they need to charge tax (which vary by provider);
- The total number of personal sessions and consultations each student completes (many students complete more than the minimum required number based on their individual needs); and
- The local currency exchange rate at the time of calculation.
Level 1:
- Tuition: $5,500 CAD plus applicable taxes/fees
- 10 personal sessions = $1,500 CAD** plus applicable taxes/fees
- 6 case consultations = $900 CAD** plus applicable taxes/fees
- Average total: $7,900 CAD plus applicable taxes/fees
- Tuition: $5,500 CAD plus applicable taxes/fees
- 10 personal sessions = $1,500 CAD** plus applicable taxes/fees
- 6 case consultations = $900 CAD** plus applicable taxes/fees
- Average total: $7,900 CAD plus applicable taxes/fees + travel and accommodations
EQUUSOMA® trainings are not currently pre-approved with any American accreditation organization for Continuing Education (CE) credits/units. Many American students have taken our trainings in spite of not yet having begun the process of CEU approvals. We are working towards meeting the requirements of these accrediting bodies so that we can eventually apply for approval, and intend to submit initial applications for approval in 2026.
Students who attend EQUUSOMA® trainings obtain a certificate of attendance for participating in each of our pre-recorded and live training modules. These certificates indicate the length of each training module in hours.
In some cases, students may be able to submit these certificates of attendance along with a description of the course to their professional association or regulatory/licensing body for consideration after the fact (such as during the renewal of their registration or membership, when a tally of professional development hours is required).
Both EQUUSOMA® and Equuscience™ are part of the same broader paradigm shift to examine other important variables beyond behaviourism that looks at how to integrate an understanding of neuroscience, trauma, attachment, ethology, and other areas of knowledge and practice into equine-human contexts. As a result, there is some overlap in content between the offerings under each umbrella.
The main distinctions are as follows:
EQUUSOMA® Horse-Human Trauma Recovery
EQUUSOMA® was developed by Sarah Schlote with licensing permission from Somatic Experiencing® International. It was originally created (and remains primarily) an in-depth, integrative professional development training program for professionals working in various equine-human scopes of practice. The entire process consists of nearly 200 hours of online and in-person training, personal sessions, and consultations to support deeper embodiment of the principles and practices as well as nervous system repatterning and relational attunement. EQUUSOMA® is taught in collaboration with faculty-in-training and a team of training assistants from around the world.Equuscience™
Equuscience™ was co-founded by Sarah Schlote and neuropsychologist and equine brain researcher Dr. Steve Peters. Equuscience™ offerings were geared towards a general audience of anyone interested in equines, including horse/donkey/mule/hinny owners, equestrians, and pleasure riders, as well as professionals in a variety of equine-related scopes of practice. Sarah and Steve do not have any joint offerings planned at the present time. To meet the needs of the group of individuals who was interested in Equuscience™, the EQUUSOMA® program has expanded its eligibility to include equine owners, riders, equestrians, and other members of the general public who are connected to equines in a non-professional capacity. For more information about this expansion, read our update (Letter and A4). Click here to register for the next Level 1 cohort.The EQUUSOMA® Policy Handbook - Student and Practitioner Edition holds the various policies and parameters that we have adopted over the years, along with updates and improvements that were in effect as of the date of publication. The 2023 version of the Handbook has been updated in 2025 with a number of Addenda that outline changes in policy that are considered part of the Handbook. All prospective students must review our policies as part of their registration in the program. The Handbook and the Addenda can be easily accessed via the gold button on the footer on this site or by clicking here.
The EQUUSOMA® program was first piloted in 2017 and officially launched in summer of 2019. The global pandemic that occurred from 2020 to 2022 forced the Level 1 program to move online, delaying the rolling out of Level 2 until 2022. As a general rule, travelling for in-person trainings is more involved and demanding than meeting online; between that and the added challenges posed by the pandemic, unstable economy, and sociopolitical turmoil in the years since then, the Level 2 cohorts have been smaller than anticipated compared to our Level 1 online cohorts.
In spite of these adverse conditions, a total of 43 students have completed all of the Level 2 training modules between summer 2022 and fall 2025!
The majority of the students who have gone beyond the training modules and who are on the Certificate Track are at varying stages of completing their personal session and case consultation credit hours in order to graduate from the program. Phenomenological programs that involve the safe and effective use of oneself and one's nervous system are different from programs that involve primarily top-down learning and checking off a set of tick boxes. Students are encouraged to do more than the minimum required number of credit hours in support of their own personal and professional development, which may require additional time depending on their needs. As a result, some students have requested extensions, while others are still well within their 2-year deadline.
Our Team Member Directory offers a list of the current faculty members, training assistants, and approved providers of credited personal sessions and consultations to students in the EQUUSOMA® program. A number of these individuals also provide services to the general public, depending on their scope of practice, location, licensure, and insurance (if applicable).
Our list of Certificate Track Professionals includes all of the students and graduates who have achieved particular benchmarks along the Certificate Track who have granted consent to be included in the list. This is not an exhaustive list, since many students do not pursue the Certificate Track and/or are working towards the benchmarks in question, and therefore are not included.
Any information we might provide via our website, email, in conversation, or via other means of communication about any of our team members, students, or graduates does not constitute an endorsement and falls under the following disclaimer.