Overcoming Sexual Trauma with Equine Therapy

Abstract: Veterans endure a variety of mental health concerns due to the common adversities and traumatic events experienced while in the military. However, veterans who receive a mental health diagnosis often do not reach out to healthcare professionals due to the negative stigma associated with the diagnosis. A component of mental health that is not addressed in the military is military sexual trauma (MST). MST is a problem in which an individual experiences sexual assault or repeated sexual harassment while serving in the military. The symptoms experienced from MST are similar to the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. An extensive search was conducted with specific criteria set, utilizing search engines like EBSCOhost, USDVA, PubMed, and USA.gov to bridge the research gap between MST and the modality of equine therapy, which is a therapeutic intervention that utilizes horses as treatment for trauma symptoms. Scientific articles have been collected that focus on the benefits that equine therapy has provided to individuals with PTSD, depression, and anxiety with a specific interest in how it could improve their quality of life moving forward. To conclude, a diverse set of scholarly articles provided ample evidence that equine therapy is a beneficial modality for all three disorders. With further research, equine therapy could potentially be an intervention for individuals with MST.