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Equine Assisted Services at The Athena Herd Foundation

Awarding

Working with external regulatory and accrediting organisations to ensure professional standards in practice and education.

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Learning

Delivering externally accredited qualifications and training that develop professional skills in Equine Assisted Services.

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Community

Providing insightful and beneficial Equine Assisted Services for local individuals, communities and organisations.

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PSA Register

The Athena Herd Foundation holds the first and only animal national based Accredited Practitioner Register to define a set of professional standards to support the delivery of Equine Assisted Services (known as, for example, Learning, or Psychotherapy and Equine Facilitated Learning, Therapy, Counselling, Psychotherapy, or Hippotherapy – defined here) by improving the regulation and registration of Practitioners through the Athena® Herd Foundation Accredited Practitioner Register™ regulated in the UK by the Professional Standards Authority.

To explore the register or find a practitioner please click here.

To find out how we handle public concerns or complaints please click here.

Please contact us for more information.

Organisational Member No: 00275580

Track System

Most importantly, the move to the farmhouse provided the horses with an amazing environment. This is because it better supports optimum physical and emotional health and well-being. Inspired by, amongst others, Jaime Jackson’s book “Paddock Paradise: A Guide to Natural Horse Boarding”. Athena Herd Foundation today is home to a sizeable barefoot herd of horses. They live as naturally as possible on an equine track system.

Consequently, it is no surprise that this labour of love brought together horses and a group of like-minded humans. In other words, people passionate about the emotional and physical health and well-being of horses. This emphasis has made it an ideal place to deliver Equine Assisted Services.

Organisational Memberships

Athena Herd Foundation CIC is an Organisational Member of both the BACP: British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, Chartered Organisational Member of the ACCPH: Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists, IAHAIO Jennifer Geach is the co-founder of the Athena Herd Foundation, a Senior Solicitor, Equine Facilitated Learning Practitioner and Senior Fellow Member of the ACCPH. The combination of living in harmony with nature and looking to care for the herd of horses in as natural an environment as possible provides a very authentic setting for the best possible Equine Assisted Services and development training and experience.

Currently the Athena Herd Foundation team can deliver a single stand alone Foundation Certificate in Equine Assisted Services, full Level 4 and Level 5 Equine Assisted Services Diploma, Level 7 PG Cert in Equine Assisted Services as well as various events and learning experiences in line with the vast amount of individual expertise.

Athena Herd Foundation logo

One thing that really stood out on moving to the farmhouse was an old almost spooky looking dead tree. This tree is located in the middle of the land and gains a great deal of attention. The lightening tree. This tree was the origin of the Athena Herd Foundation logo. It depicts that special tree deeply rooted into the land. It also has a representation of the Athena Herd and animals all encompassed within a circle. Depicting positive emotions and nature. We give thanks to Kate Chandler for designing the original Athena Herd logo and Frankie for adapting it in 2021 to bring in the Athena Herd Foundation Awarding, Learning and Community arms.

Equine Facilitated Interactions (EFL/EAL)

Authenticity and attention to the whole health and well-being of the Athena Herd horses. This is what makes Equine Assisted Services (which ccan include references to, for example, Equine Assisted Learning/Psychotherapy, Equine Facilitated Learning/Psychotherapy, Equine Assisted/Facilitated Occupational Therpy, Therapeutic Ridden work, Hippotherapy) experiences here at the Athena Herd Foundation unique. Jennifer Geach strives to build meaningful relationships and connections with the Athena Herd Foundation horses. For instance, we really observe and listen to their needs and choices focussing onsite on the groundbased approaches only. Moreover, this has also been the case with all of the horses that have made up Athena Herd over the years. We really look to gain a better understanding and insight into their individual needs and choices. This journey is what took Jennifer on this path. Subsequently, Jennifer went on to join courses offered by various training providers. Jennifer also, for example, actively participates in the Equine Assisted & Facilitated Practitioners Network (EAFPN) and Conferences, talks at events such as EAFPN Conferences, hosts South East EAFPN meet ups, speaks at global IAHAIO (International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations) conferences and delivers webinars for its international community as well as HETI (Horses in Education and Therapy International) as well as the Horses & Humans Research Foundation conference in San Antonio, USA.

Experienced Team

Importantly there is a great breadth of complementary experience and expertise in our team. This includes horsemanship, training, coaching, advisory, business, legal, equitation, counselling, mental health profesionals and much more.

300+

Success Stories

5

Qualifications

400+

Happy Students

200

Combined Years Experience

Equine Assisted Services Training Programmes

The Athena® Herd Foundation team has designed the unique stand alone trauma informed externally accredited Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Equine Assisted Services (whether you are looking for “EAS”, “EAL”, “EAP” “EFL” or “EFP”). This can be taken by attending the four day in person training course onsite (at different global venues) or through the seven week interactive experiential distance learning option in the comfort of your own home. This Foundation Certificate is externally accredited for both cpd and CEUs by the ACCPH and recognised for CPD by the iacp (Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy).

On successful completion of the externally accredited Foundation Certificate you can continue your journey with the Athena® Herd Foundation and pogress to the externally accredited Level 4 and/or Level 5 Equine Assisted Services Diploma, either on a fully or partially remote basis. Both of these qualifications are externlly accredited by the ACCPH. The Level 4 Equine Assisted Services Diploma is also recognised for CPD by the iacp. When we say we are unique at the Athena Herd Foundation, we walk that talk. There are elective modules that you can take (business, working with young people, corporates, mental health, mindfulness, equine ethology and more) through your individual learning journey while still being part of a wider supportive group.

You can also study for the externally accredited Level 7 PG Cert. in Equine Assisted Services with the Athena Herd Foundation. This qualification that is externally accredited by the ACCPH has its own separate pre-requisites.

The Athena® Herd Foundation CIC is a not for profit community interest company located in West Kent, UK. We offer the best possible learning and development experience in a unique location alongside special people and animals. Jennifer and Brent established Athena® Herd in 2014 and have developed a unique interactive learning and development centre bringing track systems/paddock paradise to the Equine Assisted Services space becoming the Athena Herd Foundation in 2021. Our programmes have been designed so that we can tailor our training to suit your needs so that you can attain accredited qualifications. Many of our training programmes are validated for CPD and CEUS by ACCPH and the IACP

For more information please visit our programme page.

Level 2 Foundation Certificate

Our externally accredited Foundation Certificate in Equine Assisted Services can be taken as a standalone qualification. Accredited for CPD and CEUs by the ACCPH and recognised for CPD by the IACP

Level 4 Diploma

Externally accredited Level 4 Equine Assisted Services is trauma informed and builds on the theory and knowledge gained on the Foundation Certificate, as well as core practical experiential skills. Accredited for CPD and CEUs by the ACCPH and recognised for CPD by the IACP

Level 5 Diploma

We expect that you will need approximately nine to ten months in total to complete the Foundation Certificate and the Level 4 Equine Assisted Services Diploma, plus an additional three to six months to complete the Level 5 Equine Assisted Services Diploma also externally accredited by the ACCPH.

Level 7 PG. Cert

A year-long course externally accredited by the ACCPH and based on supervised individual independent research and analysis, which is supported by a taught module focusing on the skills required to undertake your own research project.

Your Future Starts Here.

A heart felt thank you for partnering with us to support those most in need. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”. Winston Churchill

Equine Assisted Services at The Athena Herd Foundation

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