Experiential therapy programs expand

Oxford Treatment Center’s experiential therapy programs continue to grow, with the addition of new staff, new facilities, and an expanded schedule for equine therapy.

The center recently added two equine therapists, a weekend experiential therapist, and full-time art therapist. Land has also been cleared for a 120-foot-wide indoor riding arena at the residential campus at Etta, with construction slated for 2018. The new facility will include an indoor climbing wall.

CEO Billy Young said the expansions are designed to give clients more access to experiential therapies because of their effectiveness in treatment.

“Each day our clients spend with us is designed around their clinical needs, to help them overcome denial and embrace a path of recovery,” he said.

“Particularly for our young adult clients, grasping those concepts happens far more quickly when our therapists engage them in physical activities and hands-on demonstrations, in addition to traditional talk therapy.”

Equine therapists and patients work with horses in the arena.

Oxford Treatment Center’s signature equine therapy program uses horses to swiftly break down barriers in treatment. In addition to the therapeutic benefits of riding — from confidence-building to mindfulness — the horses are used in a range of demonstrations.

Herd dynamics offer a powerful visualization of family dynamics, while horses’ singular focus on sweet feed reflects the way addiction can overtake basic needs and upend relationships. Therapists rotate the work among 21 horses, up from 14 a year ago.

This fall, Oxford Treatment Center’s experiential therapy programs expanded into the evenings and weekends. Equine therapists took advantage of mild temperatures by introducing evening trail rides as the leaves began to turn.

In 2018, with the addition of the new indoor arena, equine therapy sessions will continue even when the weather is too cold, hot or wet outside. That equates to about a 20 percent increase in equine therapy opportunities for clients.

Wilderness therapy for young adults at Tishomingo State Park

Expansions in experiential therapy programs are also benefitting clients who have transitioned from the Etta campus into the Resolutions Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

Those clients reside in supportive living homes adjacent to the new Oxford Outpatient Center, 25 miles from the main campus. Their treatment schedule has been enriched to provide experiential therapy five days a week, both through transportation to the Etta campus and through sessions of yoga, art therapy and mindfulness at the outpatient office.

“Our Resolutions clients are in an important transition phase between residential treatment and their return to the ‘real world,’” Ossenheimer said. “During this phase, they are mapping out their next steps in life and building the skills they’ll need to cope in the future without relying on drugs or alcohol.

“When these clients stay within our continuum of care after residential treatment, they continue seeing our medical providers and have access to the resources on our main campus. Keeping them engaged in experiential therapies is one more way we can effectively support them on this journey.”