Eating Disorder Healing Through Equine Therapy

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Kristen Zollars, Program Director of Equine Services for Remuda Ranch at The Meadows, recently wrote about Eating Disorder Healing Through Equine Therapy. In this article she addresses how interacting with horses can help one deal with their own emotions and bring about acceptance.



To read this article in its entirety, please go click here.

Horses are an integral part of our leading-edge treatment. At Remuda Ranch at The Meadows, our patients learn how to be predictable, trustworthy and communicative from the bonds they establish during our Equine Therapy program. For additional information about the treatment of eating disorders, please call to speak to a Counselor at 866-842-1253 and we will contact you with the information you need.

Unhealthy Eating Disorder

Source Link: Unhealthy Eating Disorder

Orthorexia is “an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food.” This is how Dr. Steven Bratman defined it in 1997 and although it is not a medical diagnosis, it can become a life-threatening disorder. Unfortunately, Orthorexia is hard to identify in its early stages because it simply looks like an admirable desire to eat “healthy.”

An Unhealthy Eating Disorder

It often starts as a simple and positive desire to eat in a more wholesome, nutritious way. The brain chemistry imbalance that causes Orthorexia turns this into a destructive addiction that results in malnutrition and physical and mental harm.

Orthorexia shares some features of both anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, it differs from anorexia nervosa because the sufferer experiences an excessive and compulsive “need” to be “pure,” “clean,” or “natural” as opposed to “thin.” This leads to refusal to eat any foods that do not meet with the individual’s impossible standards. Of course the quest for “perfect” eating is not only unrealistic but unattainable since it not based in reality and the person’s sense of failure reinforces the desire to avoid even more foods.

Signs of Orthorexia

Even though a person with orthorexia may not want to lose weight, the disease nevertheless can cause emaciation or starvation due to food rules, restrictions and avoidance. This malnutrition makes it harder for the individual to recognize the disorder and increases anxiety, which then perpetuates the harmful restrictive eating behavior. Some symptoms of Orthorexia are:

• Preoccupation with nutrition and diet far beyond that which is necessary for health.
• Over-reliance on eating in a certain way in order to feel “safe” or “good”.
• Fear of eating, accidentally eating, or even being around “unhealthy” foods.
• Experiencing anger or panic while watching others eat “unhealthy” foods.
• Judging others harshly due to their eating and/or only associating with others who share the same restrictive food rules.
• Emotional distress or self-harm after eating a food considered “unhealthy”.
  

Healing Through Experiential Therapies

Expressive Arts Therapy and Recreation Therapy are integral elements of the eating disorder treatment program at Remuda Ranch at The Meadows. Each of these therapies provides patients with an opportunity to express themselves through a variety of modalities which enable them to explore and discover existing and new thoughts, feelings, emotions, and somatic experiences. Through non-verbal representation, patients are encouraged to delve into the topic area at a level they are comfortable with.




By providing a relaxed and non-judgmental environment, even individuals who are unfamiliar with an art room and proclaim to have no artistic talent, soon find themselves engrossed in the activities outside of a traditional therapy session. Experimenting with themes, ideas, and materials, patients are better able to express their emotions and feelings that so often surround very difficult issues they need to address in treatment.

The Expressive Arts Therapy program at Remuda Ranch includes themes related to eating disorders designed to help patients confront and express their thoughts in a manner and depth that is most comfortable for them. Activities that focus on issues such as body image, childhood influences, inner child, timelines, problem-solving skills, generational messages about the body, and spiritual connections are just some of the topics covered in our curriculum.




Recreation Therapy helps patients realize that they can have fun without the intensity of activities often identified as a major component of a patient’s eating disorder. Reducing the intensity of movement is instrumental in a recovery-focused treatment program. Activities such as volleyball, badminton, board games, gentle stretching, and therapeutic walks teach patients team building and relational skills that aid in reducing their eating disorder behaviors and also provide an enjoyable outlet for movement and play.

A Unique Equine Experience

"The Spirit Equine program of Colleen DeRango and Buddy Uldrickson is at the forefront of therapies for trauma and the healing of emotional wounds. Buddy’s calm, centered, presence, his immense horsemanship, and Colleen’s organic mastery of Somatic Experiencing™ have partnered to create a magical and transformative experience. I recommend this powerful program without reservation."



The Meadows’ equine workshop team combines the wisdom of our skillful therapist trained in Somatic Experiencing® (SE), with an uncommon horseman and highly skilled trainer. This unique equine experience is held on a scenic, rustic ranch a short distance from Wickenburg, Arizona.

Combining The Meadows Model, SE, mindfulness, and natural horsemanship, this workshop allows for a distinct healing experience. The program consists of experiential activities with horses, and addresses self-esteem, boundaries, honoring reality, wants and needs, emotional regulation, and spontaneity. Created exclusively for a small group of no more than five participants, this workshop is an outdoor experience facilitated by two gifted professionals.

We Can Help

For more details, call 866-280-2874 or complete the form below. Our Intake Coordinators are happy to assist you between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. MST on weekdays, and from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MST on weekends.

Eating Disorder Treatment Center

Success is possible, and we love to share the stories of recovery from our alumni.
Meggie Sexton was kind enough to share hers with us recently. Meggie says; "After struggling with bulimia, anorexia and exercise addiction for six years, I decided I needed to put myself first and take a chance by going away to inpatient treatment before my life slipped away anymore. I put my job on hold, my doctoral degree on hold, you name it...but I knew if I didn’t get my health back in order, none of those long-term professional, educational or personal goals were going to be reached.
The seven hour plane ride to Arizona back in October of 2010 was the most painful, slow-moving time of my life. Once I arrived at Remuda, I was scared, and my eating disorder was defensive. Over time, I fell in love with the support system there, and I relearned how to love myself. At the end of my 45 days, to be honest, I didn’t want to leave that safety net. Fast forward to today, and I have a loving husband, Sam, we have settled into our first starter-home, and we have two healthy baby boys, Connor and Cooper. Without the help of Remuda, I don’t know that I ever would have dug myself out of the deep, dark and awful hole of eating disorders. Iam forever grateful for their help, and I truly believe they helped save my life.
"Thank you for sharing your life with us and your”