La Ferme de Celia
Animal mediation
At La Ferme de Celia, we offer animal mediation sessions for vulnerable groups through activities with our horses and ponies. From providing companionship for elderly people in retirement homes to accompanying autistic children, animal mediation, better known as hippotherapy, offers a unique and enriching approach to tackling a variety of mental and emotional health challenges. Find out how this innovative method can bring you well-being on a daily basis!
Animal mediation, what is it?
Animal mediation is a medium that uses the presence of animals to improve overall health. By interacting with animals, this method brings a range of benefits on both a physical and psychological level. Animal mediation can be used to treat people of all ages with a variety of medical conditions, including motor, sensory, cognitive or emotional disorders.
At La Ferme de Celia, the horse is used as a mediator in the educational relationship with the person. The aim of animal mediation, better known as "hippotherapy", is to create an environment in which humans and horses can meet. The animal brings security and openness, thanks to the spontaneity and unexpectedness it introduces into the relationship.
The benefits of animal mediation
Animal mediation is much more than just a recreational experience, it's a genuine opportunity for personal transformation. Sessions are carefully orchestrated to bring to life interactions between the person and the animal. These special encounters are designed to achieve a variety of objectives, from calming and reactivating interest, to restoring confidence and stimulating participation in enriching social activities. All this, of course, with the utmost respect for the individual's wishes and needs, aiming to cultivate well-being by reconnecting with the living and the outside world.
Sessions objectives
Our animal mediation sessions aim to achieve specific objectives based on the participant's individual needs. These may include improving motor skills, balance and coordination, as well as emotional and social reinforcement.
Here are a few examples of objectives we can work on:
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Learning to manage and understand emotions
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Building self-confidence and self-esteem
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Gain access to speech
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Promoting autonomy and responsibility
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Improving social relations
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Work on the 5 senses
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Recharge your batteries
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Reconnect with life and nature
We take care of establishing a regular follow-up of the person in order to best adapt the sessions to his/her needs and desires, and to modify the initial objectives if needed.
My personal testimony about animal mediation
During my internships and voluntary work, and then during the animal mediation sessions organized at La Ferme de Celia, I've observed mentally disabled people who have come out of their mutism, and opened up a little more during the animal mediation sessions. Some have been able to gradually reconcile with themselves and reconnect with the outside world, creating new social relationships. I've observed that the animal soothes people, inspires joy and moments of happiness, inspires confidence and moments of complicity. The animal stimulates the person, inviting them to stand out and get out of their own bubble.
Through gestures of care and attention, the animal gives the person the opportunity to take responsibility, become an actor and develop towards greater autonomy. All these circumstances enhance the person's self-confidence.
Each animal mediation session is a further small step towards personal fulfillment.
Contact us!
For more information about animal mediation, please contact me at 0479/580302 or by e-mail at legrand.celia446@gmail.com!