Abstract
One form of psychiatric leisure rehabilitation which has only recently been explored for individuals with schizophrenia is
Therapeutic Horseback Riding (THBR). This study is the first to examine THBR for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) patients
with schizophrenia. A sample of 6 ACT patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who reside in the community
and 6 mental health care staff participated in 10 weeks of weekly horseback riding sessions with an experienced THBR instructor.
Participating patients, staff and the THBR instructor were qualitatively interviewed at the start, during and at the end of
the THBR program and these semi-structured interviews were analyzed for recurrent themes. We found that THBR benefitted this
group of patients. In spite of our study’s limitations, such as its exploratory nature and the small sample size, it demonstrates
that THBR has promise and should be further developed and studied for individuals with schizophrenia.
Therapeutic Horseback Riding (THBR). This study is the first to examine THBR for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) patients
with schizophrenia. A sample of 6 ACT patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who reside in the community
and 6 mental health care staff participated in 10 weeks of weekly horseback riding sessions with an experienced THBR instructor.
Participating patients, staff and the THBR instructor were qualitatively interviewed at the start, during and at the end of
the THBR program and these semi-structured interviews were analyzed for recurrent themes. We found that THBR benefitted this
group of patients. In spite of our study’s limitations, such as its exploratory nature and the small sample size, it demonstrates
that THBR has promise and should be further developed and studied for individuals with schizophrenia.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-6
- DOI 10.1007/s10597-011-9457-y
- Authors
- Deborah Corring, Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Erica Lundberg, Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Abraham Rudnick, Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Journal Community Mental Health Journal
- Online ISSN 1573-2789
- Print ISSN 0010-3853