My Journey & How I Can Help You on Yours

When I was 4 years old my hair started to fall out. The doctor told my mother it was from stress. But it was 1980, and apparently at that time there was little to be done to alleviate the “stress” or address the underlying cause of said stress. I spent the next decade of my life in a constant state of worry about, well pretty much everything. It wasn’t until I was 15 that I finally convinced my mother to send me to a child psychiatrist. It was during that 15th year that I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder with mild depressive episodes. Up until that point I had felt inferior to my peers, to my sister, basically to anyone who woke up every day and just lived their life without anxiety.  I thought something was inherently wrong with me, that I couldn’t just suck it up and be “normal.” 

After years of psychotherapy, a BA in Psychology, and a graduate program in Clinical Psychology, I finally understood the who, what, where, and why my anxiety originated from. I accepted my anxiety as a part of who I was, and tried to live my life in spite of it. However it wasn’t until my 4th decade of life that I finally started to work on the how’s.  How do I move past my anxiety? How do I keep my anxiety from affecting my work, my relationships?  How can I reframe what anxiety means for me? How can I use it to my benefit? How can I be more resilient? How can I explore more? And ultimately how can I be happier?

Horses helped me find the answers.

I have been most of my life around horses in some capacity. Whether in a regimented Dressage training program, working as a summer trail guide, or bringing up young horses, I have learned more about myself through their eyes than I have in any other relationships I have cultivated. With a background in teaching, school counseling, and psychology, I went on to become a successful entrepreneur, running my own Equestrian Clothing business, LA Saddlery for the past 2 decades. After more than 20 years in retail, I began to feel restless, craving work that felt more congruent with my love for helping others. Combining horses and mental health was a natural transition for me, and one that I had essentially been preparing for my entire life.

I am now a certified an Equus Coach where my goal is to help people reconnect with themselves, get unstuck from dysfunctional patterns, transition to new adventures, and find ways to experience joy in their lives. I often ask myself, what makes me qualified to help other people, especially when I still struggle with my own bouts of self-doubt and negative spiraling? Through the course of becoming certified, and with the help of multiple horse facilitators, I realized that what I have been searching for most of life was to be seen and heard. Often feeling invisible, undervalued, and simply not enough has made me highly sensitive and empathetic to others who struggle with similar feelings.

Through this process I have learned that I am quite good at both seeing and hearing my clients, and helping them move forward in their lives makes me happy. I also have pretty phenomenal horse facilitators to assist me along the way!

Client Experiences

  • JULIA S.

    “

    I wasn’t sure what to expect when I agreed to a couple of eq coaching sessions with Renee, but wow, I am so glad I said yes. Being a therapist myself, I won’t lie, I wasn’t sure if there would be much for me to gain. (Funny how life likes to prove us wrong.) I can safely say, I learned more in just two sessions with Renee than I have in the past 3 years of 1 x week individual outpatient therapy sessions. I was diagnosed w PTSD after the birth of my son and have struggled significantly with panic attacks as a result. Living a life in constant fear, where a potential panic attack is always around the corner, is no life. With Renee’s gentle encouragement and insight, I was finally able to actually see what I am capable of. She was able to give me an opportunity to connect with my horse in the most beautiful way possible…to help me heal.

    For me, I think what was so helpful, is how different the approach is from modern “talk” therapy or CBT. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Renee and my horse. I would (and have) highly recommend anyone try for themselves and see just how much you learn about yourself, if you are willing to listen.

    ”

  • VICKI K.

    “

    I still go back and think about our coaching session. I'm around horses quite a lot and I've had my fair share of therapy sessions, yet the experience with Renee was singularly impactful. While we all seem to agree that horses feel and react to our energy, I don't think I've ever seen it quite so clearly before.  Balou's reaction to my feelings and emotions were undeniable. I've thought back to the session for weeks being able to draw new conclusions and affirmations from this wonderful experience. I hope to repeat it many more times! 

    ”

  • DJUNA

    “

    I love working with Renee so much.  She creates a safe space to explore my emotions and shows me how the horses mirror my energy. Through working with her and her sweet horses, I’ve gained confidence in areas of my life that I was lacking. She and Cagney have also guided me on how to empower myself.  One of the exercises that I found most helpful was setting a boundary with the horse. It was eye opening to experience how my exchange with the horse shows up in my every day life. It really is the highlight of my week. I can’t recommend Renee enough and I am looking forward do doing more sessions with her. 

    ”

  • MADISON

    “

    I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect and I am not very familiar with horses and their nature. I would say the most uncomfortable part was the beginning because I didn't know what to do with the horse. It was super helpful when Renee came into the round pen with me and showed me how to guide the horse around.  After that I had a better understanding of  how to connect with the horse. Overall this was really cool and moving experience. I have never done anything like this before, and Renee really helped me get some insight on how to tackle the issues I'm struggling with in my work life.  She was really good at showing me how the horses responses translate to me, and the way she was asking questions, trying to get me to come to my own conclusions with the help of the horse.  My favorite part of the session was the end when Balou responded to my realization of how to move forward with the issues I am having. He came in to me as if he was accepting that I was acknowledging my true self. This was an awesome experience and I can't wait to come back!

    ”

  • MIE K.

    “

    Renee is a very kind person who wants you to succeed and is very helpful in guiding you through it.  I think  everything is a process, and there is a reason to go through all the steps and trying things out and learning from them. My favorite part of this experience was defining success, and looking at everything I did that didn't go so great, and knowing that's part of the learning.  It was great to have the opportunity to go back and forth, trying something out with the horse, then talking about it until I succeeded.  The horse reflected my energy and for the first time in my life I could identify what I was truly feeling. The horses responded on specific feelings and it was very exciting to work forward from there with that direct feedback. 

    “

Getting unstuck from old patterns can be challenging— but horses can show us the way through.

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