A Recent Report from "Child Protective Services WATCH" states that nearly 80% of all prison inmates were once involved in the Foster Care system.
This statistic is what drives our mission to help change the mental health care in the Foster System.
There are approximately 1.3 million homeless children in the U.S., five hundred thousand of those children are under the age of five. Add to that the tens of thousands of children in foster care system and you have a very deep sea of broken spirits in need of therapy to recover.
Our foster care and Group Homes in the United States are overburdened, there are not enough programs promoting our children's needs. The traditional therapies currently in use are not as successful as the equine programs used at the ranch. We see children blossom with the presence of a horse.
“We can’t compete with the ranch”. A recent quote about Zuma's Rescue Ranch from an Arapaho County foster care therapist.
The horses do not need to do anything, simply being present is enough for a child with emotional issues to make a connection, we see the transformation in a very short time frame.
Equine Assisted Experiential Learning using rescued horses and at risk children is a logical pairing of souls combined in a healing effort.
Statistics by, ”Knowledgeplex”,
Mark Chamot
Wind Swept
Experiential Learning Center
A program for families and children dealing with significant
transitions including involvement in the foster care system, adoption, divorce,
separation, death or any other significant transition.
The
first step to success in any type of program is engagement or motivation
towards change. Any facilitator will
tell you that if a client is not “bought in” to a change process, they will not
be successful in meeting any goals such as reducing difficult or problem
behaviors and emotions. Horses can
often engage children or adolescents more effectively than a therapist can
alone. They provide non-judgmental
feedback for behavior, provide a metaphor for relationship building, and can
also increase self-confidence when children learn to control them through the
development of a partnership relationship.
Zuma’s facilitators use a variety of equine assisted approaches to address various
challenges that children and families face. Children who live through difficult family transitions often
display difficult behaviors as a result of these challenging changes. Wellness with Horses is an 18 week
program to help families address a child’s difficult behavior that may be the
result of a difficult transition.
The first 6 weeks will address the child individually. The second 6 weeks will include the
child and the family with whom the child currently resides. The third 6 weeks will add any other
significant family members with whom the child does not currently reside (i.e.
biological parents of a child in foster care, a parent who has moved out of the
house because of separation/divorce, or a sibling who resides elsewhere).
WHEN: Tuesday Evenings 5:00pm-7:30pm
Teen Group
Saturday 10:00-12:30 Pre-Teen Group
WHERE: Zuma Rescue Ranch
7745 N Moore Rd.
Littleton,
CO
COST: $460.00 for six-weeks
CONTACT:
info@zumasrescueranch.com or call 303-346-7493
Parent Support Group
This
group will provide a supportive environment where parents can vent
frustrations, seek advice, and share their own parenting strategies with other
parents.
The group will be led by
Darcy Ferrentino LCSW. Darcy has
extensive experience leading parent support groups as well as conducting
therapy around parent/child conflict.
This will be a talk therapy group and may or may not use animal assisted
approaches with equines and/or canines.
Darcy will collaborate with all group members when deciding topics of
interest and types of activities.
When: Every Mondy
Time
: 5:30-7:30PM
(this runs concurrently with the adolescent (13-19 y/o) after-school
program, so bring your kids to the after school program and get some support
while they are waiting).
Where: Zuma Rescue Ranch
7745
N Moore Rd. Littleton,
CO
Cost: $15/session
Contact: Katie Dixon for more information at: info@zumasrescueranch.com
Family,
Couple, and Individual Psychotherapy
Client-centered
and experiential practice using equine, canine and traditional psychotherapy
approaches.
Zuma’s therapists
treat each family and individual based on their unique needs and design
therapeutic interventions using a variety of animal assisted and traditional
talk therapy approaches. We
work with many client issues including parent/child conflict, depression,
anxiety, eating disorders, pre-marital counseling, relationship problems,
attachment difficulties, and many other issues.
When:These sessions are scheduled on a individual basis
Where: Locations to be determined at time of scheduling
Cost: Cost range from $60-$100 per hour.
Sliding scale payments are 1% of gross family income.
Darcy Ferrentino, LCSW Darcy has over 15
years of experience working with children, adolescents and their families. She received her MSW from the
University of Vermont and earned a certificate in animal-assisted therapy at
the University of Denver. Darcy
has a strength-based approach to counseling in that she encourages families and
individuals to focus on changes they would like to make while also emphasizing
what is working or has worked in the past. Darcy has worked extensively with adolescents directing an
intensive outpatient program at Four Winds Hospital in Saratoga Springs,
NY. She began using her three
therapy dogs as part of her program and since that time has also embraced
equine therapy as an incredibly effective method in which to build rapport with
clients and lessen resistance to therapeutic change. Sessions with Darcy are $100 per hour. She does have a sliding scale depending
on income. Darcy currently does
not accept private insurance or Medicaid.
Contact:
info@zumasrescueranch.com or call 303-346-7493
Please contact Jodi Messenich 303-346-7493 for Scholarship opportunities
Horse Rescue with Equine Assisted Psychotherapy