The Founder and Executive Director of Operation Equine, Michelle Kaye, joins the show to talk about the impact of equine therapies. What is it about being around horses that helps people heal? How is a therapy horse different from a therapy dog? And what's the horse Rorschach test? Michelle, Otis, and Cam dive into all this and more on this fun and thoughtful episode.
More About Michelle:
Michelle possesses over 30 combined years of teaching and counseling experience, and has had the honor of serving those who serve us - in the Military Service Member, Veteran, Emergency Responder, and Health Care Worker communities - for over 13 years.
In working with successful and heartfelt organizations such as Project Sanctuary and TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), and serving as a Military Family Life Counselor (MFLC), she discovered that truly, the whole family serves, and she is dedicated to creating and offering Operation Equine programs to the entire family, as well as to any caregivers who assist them. Horses became Michelle’s own personal sanctuary at the age of 6, and she learned to express her sense of confidence and freedom through relationship and spending hours and hours watching them, spending time with them at liberty, and learning how to ride. Later, she began sharing those unique equine experiences and knowledge with others, before equine-assisted therapies were “a thing.” She continues to expand her own personal growth through the power of working with horses, and she is passionate about creating opportunities to empower our Warrior, Protector, and Healer communities to join up. She has been an Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Learning (EAP/L) Eagala Model Certified Mental Health professional since 2010, is somatically trained through EGE (Equine Guided Education), is a proud member of the HERD Institute, has studied with EquuSoma and EponaQuest, and is open to any modalities that truly honor the human-horse connection. Michelle is a Licensed Professional Counselor and educator who is committed to an inclusive Warrior Spirit: in her life, as well as in her organization. The values of integrity, courage, honor, service before self, and loyalty run through her veins, and they are proudly the cornerstones of Operation Equine.
Michelle Kaye
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OperationEquine/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/operation-equine/