The Development of Prairie Instincts

It all started when…

I grew up on a farm and spent most of my free time outside, taming wild kittens, riding horses, climbing trees and taking the goats for a picnic.… and I thought I had a typical, normal childhood. When I went to college and heard people talking about their experiences, I found out I was very wrong. It made me feel sheltered, privileged and guilty.

This is where all my ideas started. Why do I have to feel guilty about having a good childhood? How could I offer others at least a little bit of what I had? How could I share my experiences with others and make a difference in their lives?

In 2011 I read an article about a therapy turkey and immediately signed up for a week long seminar/ internship at Dreamcatchers Association (the program the article was about). I spent a week with Eileen Bona (Registered Psychologist) learning about her Animal Assisted Therapy program. Her practice used horses, dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys, donkeys, llamas, alpacas and bunnies. This was my DREAM. However, at the time I was in my second year of my degree and had a long road before I could start something that big.
In 2012 I was taking my first English Riding lessons (wow was that a learning curve) and noticed my instructor was certified in Equine Assisted Learning. Turns out she needed a partner so I jumped right on that and completed my certification with Cartier Farms. Well, things didn’t go as planned and the program never started.
2014 came and I graduated from University of Calgary with my Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (BSW) after completing my practicums at Mental Health Outreach and Medicine Hat Family Services. I wanted to work one-on-one with children but jumped on an opportunity to be a school- based group facilitator with Mental Health and Addictions (AHS).

2015 I had twins. Something happened in these years, like sleep deprivation and a lot of mess.

Finally in 2019 I decided I needed to get my dream moving so I re-did my certification at Cartier Farms and started pushing towards my goal! After working on the business side of things and getting everything official, Prairie Instincts launched its very first group (Unbridled Moms) in the fall.

2020 was an interesting year for most people and my sessions were put on hold for a few months with the Covid-19 shut down. During that time, I decided to start the certification process with another Equine Facilitated Wellness program, Pro-EFW (Canadian Regulatory Body). This certification is much different than my current one and connects EFW practice with Gordon Neufeld’s Attachment theory. I LOVED it.

2021 provided me with new excitement and challenges as I was accepted and began my journey in a Master of Counselling program through University of Lethbridge! I also started working casually as an addictions counsellor for Alberta Health Services while still providing several EAL programs to organizations in Medicine Hat.

Qualifications

• Registered Social Worker with ACSW (Alberta College of Social Workers)

• Certified Equine Assisted Learning Facilitator from Cartier Farms

• First Aid & CPR

• Equine First Aid

• Certified mentor for HeartMath

• Currently working towards my Pro-EFW Certification (Equine Facilitated Wellness, Mental Health Professional)

• Currently working towards my Master of Counselling

completed

• Maternal Mental Health Intensive (online course from Seleni)

• Animal Assisted Therapy seminar with Eileen Bona (Registered Psychologist)

• The Science of Well-Being - Yale University

• Compassionate Discipline - Institute of Childhood Psychology

• Childhood Anxiety - Institute of Childhood Psychology

• Little Warriors Prevent it workshop

• Triple P Parenting

• ASIST ( Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training)

• SARC First Responder Training

• Attachment, Mind, and Brain: How Neural  Development is Shaped by our Close  Relationships- Dr. Daniel Siegel Workshop

• BrainWise Workshop

• Mental Health First Aid

Experience

• Addictions Counsellor for Alberta Health Services (Medicine Hat Recovery Centre and Brooks Outreach)

• Group Facilitator for AHS Mental Health & Addictions (School Based + In-Clinic)

• Practicum Student at Medicine Hat Family Services (Counselling agency)

• Practicum Student at Mental Health Outreach

• Crisis Intervention Worker at Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society

• Learning Assistant at Building Blocks Daycare

• Child & Youth Worker at CORE