Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Engaging with nature
Soon-to-open farm will allow clients to seek tranquility and healing in nature
Animals don’t judge. That knowledge is the inspiration behind Spirited Breeze Care Farm, opening Sept. 1 near Elverson.
“By being engaged with some kind of activity, results last longer,” said farm co-founder Kathleen Leonard.
Leonard and her husband, Richard Hohner, both licensed clinical social workers, will offer individual and family therapy outdoors, often to include sessions with the animals or gardens on the farm.
Face-to-face interaction is anxiety inducing, Leonard said. That’s where the nonjudgmental dogs, cats and horses come into play, along with just being outdoors.
“The opportunities to engage with nature in a unique and therapeutic way could include a hike in the woods with the horses or dogs, sitting with the sheep, watching the koi while listening to the waterfall, or digging in the dirt in our garden. The sessions will be tailored to your unique needs. In addition to our animal-based experiences, we also offer art therapy as an alternative means of expression,” according to Spiritedbreezecarefarm.com.
Leonard and Hohner have almost 50 years of combined clinical experience in working with children, adolescents, adults and families.
“Together we have worked to build this tranquil and warm environment for individuals to explore their wellness journey,” Leonard said. “All of our animals are rescues or (were) donated to the farm.”
Spirited Breeze Care Farm, at 211 Blue Rock Hill in Caernarvon Township, has seven horses, five sheep, three dogs, seven cats, 35 chickens, plus koi fish. Clients waiting in wings “We are working hard to get the farm and the critters ready to start working with individuals, couples and families in September,” she said. “We have four referrals on deck and are getting inquiries daily,” she said.
Attached to their home on the farm are two large decks beside a babbling waterfall, all overlooking9 acres of manicured land. The barn, stable, corral, sheep pen, chicken coop, gardens and pasture are surrounded by trees and trails backing up to state gamelands.
They were familiar with the concept of care farms, a popular therapy growing in Europe, with just a few in the United States. Care farming provides supervised, structured therapeutic programs of activities such as caring for livestock and tending agriculture, with therapeutic interventions.
“Fifty percent or more people see their primary care doctors seeking help with psychosocial problems, anxiety, depression and the like,” Leonard said. “Here, those in need of support or guidance discover a world of ways to address these needs. Alternative therapies like art therapy, care farming, and animal-assisted therapy can provide great benefits in a fun, safe, and therapeutic environment.”
Hohner is an experienced therapist working with veterans and those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Leonard works with primary care physicians. She is the animal person, and Hohner is in charge of the land and gardens, she said.
They are reaching out to Berks, Lancaster, Chester and Montgomery schools to help with autistic, developmental or emotionally challenged, brain-injured students and others. Their therapy dog Sully, a French bulldog, is already a regular at Twin Valley Elementary School.
Other methods, such as art therapy, animal-assisted therapy and care farming take the pressure off and take the person out of the traditional office into the safe spaces of the studio, the farm or nature. The farming component, both planting and harvesting in raised beds, gives a tactile feel of the Earth and a personal fulfillment of growth.
Marilyn Traeger, a K-Pets certified neighbor, volunteer and former dog groomer, is at home with the farm’s licensed therapy dogs including Sully, who has his Canine Good Citizen certificate along with three trick dog titles. Bugsy, a collie mix, likes to play tug of war. Lyra, recused from the streets of Brazil, is so lovable, coaxing out the shyness from clients. Kinzer is their trained therapy cat.
“Jackson, our Pomeranian rescued from a puppy mill 12 years ago, is a very important member of the team,” Leonard said, snuggling him in her arms.
Art of peacefulness
While the animals and the outdoors are therapeutic, there’s also a role for certified art therapist Jennifer Searing, who works with adults, adolescents and children, individually and in groups. She is also a certified brain injury specialist.
Searing explained art therapy as “integrative methods, engaging the mind, body, and spirit in ways other than verbal articulation alone, kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual and symbolic opportunities invite alternative modes of receptive and expressive communication, circumventing the limitations of language.”
Simply put, she said, “It is a way of processing thought and feeling through a mix of verbal and nonverbal forms of communication. It is a process or journey and you learn along the way.”
For example, Searing will be working with the sheep, spinning the wool for people to use in their art.
The newest team member is Heather A. Mayer, who will assist with the horse sessions. With 31 years of professional riding experience, she is a riding instructor at Thorncroft Equestrian Center in Malvern. She is in an occupational therapy master’s degree program at Alvernia University.
The farm’s horses include a thoroughbred, a Spanish white Arabian named Lola, and her 2-year-old daughter. To experience these horses is almost spiritual; their gentleness is remarkable.
Leonard explained how much their friends and family enjoyed spending time on the farm and inspired the creation of a care farm.
“We had forgotten just how relaxing it can be to sit on the deck or by the pond listening to the sounds of nature. But when a friend commented on the sense of peace and security they found in doing this, we knew that we had a unique opportunity to share this experience with others,” she said. “And, as two people who spent the last 25 years providing therapy in a sterile office, we knew that this could be a better way to engage others in their wellness journey.”