‘It felt easier’: Healing Hearts uses equine therapy to expand mental health support in Mountain Home
By Sahana Patel
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MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KIVI) — Mental health resources are limited in rural communities like Mountain Home, but one counselor is offering therapy far from a traditional office.
Alexandra Yewcic, a former Air Force member, opened Healing Hearts in April after struggling to find the kind of care she needed herself.
Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare reports that every county in the state is facing a shortage of mental health professionals. Yewcic hopes to offer a more personal approach, particularly for Mountain Home’s military community.
“I was being seen, and it just did not feel personal at all,” Yewcic said. “I did not like how I was treated.”
The equine therapy practice partners with her horse rescue, Chasing Chances Rescue. Clients can step outside to spend time with horses, allowing them to relax and open up in a different environment.
“Letting them know that horses have gone through traumatic stuff as well and they’ve learned to re-trust people again, so that people can learn to re-trust some people,” Yewcic said.
Sisters Kaidyn and Khilynne Uelman said they never felt comfortable with traditional therapy. For Kaidyn, the outdoor setting made a difference.
“It just feels more open, being like out here and talking about things instead of being closed off,” Kaidyn Uelman said.
“I don’t like talking to people, but with Alex, I like talking to her. She’s open and actually listens,” Khilynne Uelman said.
Yewcic said horses are incredibly intuitive, often responding to a person’s body language, facial expressions, and emotions.
“Horses are just amazing, they just know how we feel before we even realize that’s how we’re feeling,” Yewcic said.
For Kaidyn, that connection is what makes equine therapy so meaningful.
“Most of them are shy, and kind of don’t like people, and I’m like that,” Kaidyn said.
Yewcic said Healing Hearts accepts several of the insurance plans most commonly used in Mountain Home, including Medicaid, Tricare and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
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