At Trails to Serenity, we provide deeply transformational, experiential horse partnered coaching experiences that can bring healing, clarity, purpose and passion back into your life. Our holistic Gestalt coaching is experienced through private or group sessions as well as through our creative, fun and revitalizing workshops and retreats. Your inner peace and happiness are waiting. It is time to begin your Trails to Serenity.
HEALING POWER OF THE HORSE
Just being around horses can bring a sense of well-being and tranquility. Studies have found that interacting with horses has numerous positive health benefits, such as reducing blood pressure and heart rate, boosting beta-endorphins which help in pain relief, lowering stress, and diminishing feelings of anger, hostility, tension, and anxiety. It also enhances social skills and fosters a greater sense of empowerment, trust, patience, and confidence.
The horses and I are waiting to help you on your wellness journey. Schedule a session NOW!
Equine Gestalt
Gestalt is the quest for wholeness
The EGCMethod is:
• Wholeness, present moment, holistic, experiential, healing, somatic
• Equine-partnered coaching with each session as unique as you are
• For ANYONE wanting success, happiness and positive lasting change
• Scientifically & Statistically PROVEN. Non-diagnostic method ” No Labels “
• PRICELESS. Deeply powerful, truly transformative positive life experience
You are in the right place if …
• You are not living the life you truly want, not realizing your true potential
• You feel confused, stuck, numb or struggle to make positive decisions
• You have experienced ANY traumatic event, loss, grief, regrets, anger
• You feel exhaustion, burnout, depression, chaos, PTSD, addiction, shame
• You are ready to experience clarity, healing, success and happiness
Gestalt is a way of life, the serenity way of life. Clearing our unfinished business, living life authentically and in the present moment creates a life filled with joy, success and serenity. Equine Gestalt Coaching opens the door to your inner soul creating possibilities.
The Equine Gestalt Coaching Method® was developed by Melisa Pearce, a core founder since 1989 of the horse-human healing movement. The experiential nature of the method involves the horse as an active partner with the coach in the client’s exploratory process. The integrative approach of the equine’s interaction combined with positive coaching, somatic awareness guidance and Gestalt methodology, assists the client in examining their life and choices made with a focus on designing a positive future.
Gestalt is a person-centered, humanistic, and holistic method looking at the “wholeness “of the person. The Gestalt method holds that each person has the answers to their own happiness, though those answers may be outside of their awareness. The Gestalt “experience” helps bring those answers into the client’s awareness.
Gestalt is a highly effective and unique method of coaching that reaches deep in the cells of the body, down into the soul and releases the pain and trauma that has been blocking you from living a successful, happy life.
Why Horses
Horses are natural born healers, all having their own unique ability to heal. Their healing is a gift to humans, not something they are forced or trained to do. They are natural Gestaltists, living in the present moment, authentic and honest with their feelings.
Horses are intelligent, intuitive beings that seek congruence and authenticity, the alignment of our mind, body and spirit, the realness and truth of our emotions. When we reach a state of congruence, when we are grounded in our bodies, honest with ourselves and feeling our emotions, then our mind, body and soul become aligned.
The horses feel this shift of energy and will then move to join us, to help us in self-discovery, to validate our truths and to clear and balance our energy so that we may also live in a state of awareness and serenity as they do.
When my horses choose to partner with me and offer their healing ability, I am their voice to you and I am grateful to do so.
%
Agreed they felt better about themselves at the conclusion of the Equine Gestalt Coaching session than at its beginning.”
%
Would participate in this coaching program again.
%
Agreed they felt more hopeful about their future at the conclusion of the Equine Gestalt Coaching session than at its beginning.
My Story
Hi I’m Tammy
Love, Happiness, Compassion, Integrity and Serenity are the values that have shaped my life choices and are the reasons I have always felt my mission in life is to help people find their own happiness and serenity.
I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve their full potential, to be successful in all they desire, to experience self-love, to be loved and to live a life filled with happiness, hope and serenity. As I have so gratefully learned, Equine Gestalt Coaching (EGC) can open the doors to those possibilities.
I discovered “Touched by a Horse®” and the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method™ while searching for answers to the pain and anger I felt at the lack of help for families being destroyed by Substance Use Disorder aka addiction. You see, I am a mother whose child battles Substance Use Disorder and fights daily against the death grip of addiction. I understand how families become entangled in the chaos and helplessness of loving someone lost in addiction. I live it.
I am thankful for my training in EGC as it has opened my eyes and my heart to the journey of my own life. Like most people, I have experienced trauma, challenges, grief and devastation throughout my life’s journey. During my EGC training, I was able to take an honest look at my life and work on my own unfinished business.
I have walked and I have run the trails of self-discovery and went heart first into finishing and releasing the unfinished business surrounding some of my life challenges and traumas.
I have experienced soulful healing surrounding the painful experiences and near crippling grief at the death of one of my fathers, my brother, my sister and my grandparents.
I unleashed my anger, frustration, deep sorrow and tears at watching my loved one slip repeatedly into the death grip of addiction. I have screamed at the chaos and hopelessness it brought to our lives. I now feel hope and peace.
I have released the sadness and helplessness I felt in watching and not being able to stop the decline of my mother’s, my brother’s and my sister’s health.
I understand and have released my feelings of overwhelm, anger and resentment in becoming the family caretaker for loved ones who were not making healthy choices or taking care of themselves. I now set boundaries and accept I am not responsible for their choices.
Through self-awareness and self-compassion, I was able to release my feelings of guilt and regret over “Did I do enough” to help those that I love and have lost. I can now accept I did my very best.
Through completing my own personal work, I have experienced profound healing, empowerment and serenity. I have been able to connect the dots to the behaviors, patterns, limiting beliefs and choices I have made that have both positively and negatively affected my life. I am forever grateful.
I know that as life evolves, there will be more to discover about myself, more challenges to overcome and more unfinished business to release. I am not afraid of the future. I will trust the process and will have Equine Gestalt to guide me.
Equine Gestalt Coaching can open the door to your soul. Your horse partner and I are waiting to guide you along your trails of self-discovery to new possibilities and the life you desire. Your Trails to Serenity are waiting. Call us NOW.
The Many Roles I Lead
I believe life’s experiences and the roles that we lead are truly invaluable and form the many parts that shape who we are. I have had the honor and gained priceless experience in the many personal and professional roles that I lead.
In my personal roles, I am a mother, a grandmother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a sister-in-law, a daughter-in-law, a co-worker, a COTA, a caretaker for my mother and an animal lover. I love all animals though my greatest love and passion for horses has always been a part of my life. I feel great joy, peace, connection and freedom whenever I am around horses. I did not truly understand these feelings until my training as an Equine Gestaltist. I understand their healing power and their effect on humans now.
Professionally, I am a certified Equine Gestaltist™ and a Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant. My training to become a certified Equine Gestaltist™, included two years of rigorous, comprehensive training in deep process trauma informed coaching, equine-partnered coaching techniques, positive co-active coaching, somatic awareness, energy healing and applying the clairsentience and healing power of the horse following the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method™. I was personally trained by renowned Psychotherapist, Master Gestaltist and respected horsewoman, Melisa Pearce. Melisa developed the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method™ in 2008 and is the founder of “Touched by a Horse®”.
For my J.O.B., I have had the honor and privilege of providing rehabilitation services as a Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant for 26+ years in the rewarding healthcare field of Occupational Therapy. I understand how the loss of one’s independence through injury or illness alters activities of daily living, family dynamics and visions for the future. Emotional trauma comes with physical loss. Through my rehabilitation experience and as a certified Equine Gestalt practitioner, I help trauma survivors and their families understand that life and dreams are not over because of a limiting injury or illness; the path to their dreams has been altered, the trail can still be navigated, a beautiful life can still be lived.
Your horse partner and I are waiting to help you discover what is keeping you from living the life you desire. We are offering you a way to finish your unfinished business so you can enjoy a life in happiness, success and serenity.
DO NOT wait any longer, the life you want is waiting for you to take the next step. Call me now.
Meet the Horses
Our Healing Herd
Joe
Quarter Horse — born in 2009
Joe is a very sweet boy. He loves people and is always first to greet us at the pasture gate. Joe is so gentle with his coaching clients and is an amazing energy balancer.
Honeycomb
Quarter Horse — born in 2004
Honey is very sweet with a lot of sass! She seems to be the favorite in the herd. Full of sugar and spice, she firmly though lovingly supports her humans in discovering their truth. She is our Equi-detector and knows who is in their head or in their hearts!
Ginger
Quarter Horse — born in 2013
Ginger is so sweet and patient with everyone she meets! She has a quiet way of instilling confidence and self awareness in everyone she coaches. She loves being with humans, gentle scratches, and her favorite treat is peppermints!
What you need to know
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this therapy?
Equine Gestalt Coaching is not intellectual traditional “talk therapy” and is non-diagnostic. No labels here, no analyzing your brain for an hour. In Gestalt session we want you to explore your heart, what your feeling, and as deep into your soul as you would like to go. Gestalt coaching is experiential and, in the moment, meaning you will be actively engaging in a Gestalt experience that allows you to freely explore the unfinished business that is blocking you from living the life you want. Gestalt experiences are as different and unique as each individual.
The Gestalt Method is well known, respected and is often used in conjunction with traditional intellectual therapies.
What can I expect?
Your coaching session will be held in a confidential, comfortable and safe space allowing you to fully immerse yourself into a deeply powerful and truly transformative coaching experience that can foster positive lasting change in your life.
The session is dedicated to you. Your horse partner and I will hold space for you as you begin your trails of self discovery.
We will support you with love, compassion and integrity at every interaction. Your sessions are 100% confidential. What happens at the barn stays at the barn!
What does a typical session look like?
You will be greeted upon arrival by our horse handler who will perform a safety demo with you and your horse partner, assist you through the barn and arena to our coaching area and ensure that you are comfortable. Gestalt coaching happens in the present moment and explores what is coming up for you at that moment. Therefore, to have the best authentic experience, I do not need a lengthy history prior to our session as we will discover your unfinished business in the actual session. I will meet you at the barn where we will begin your healing journey.
Due to the holistic, experiential and in the moment nature of Gestalt, our sessions are longer than traditional “talk therapy”. Private Sessions are 90 mins in length and our Group Sessions are 2.5 to 3 hours depending upon the number of group members and “pieces of work” we want to do. Our Workshops are single and multi day depending on the topic and our Retreats are multi-day serenity experiences.
I am flexible with days and times as my client schedule allows. Please call me to discuss what works for you.
What should I wear and what fitness level is needed?
Our sessions are held in a comfortable environment in the barn, lounge, or outside in nature (weather permitting of course). Please wear comfortable clothes for the weather of the day. Your session is experiential so you may be moving around a bit. Closed toe shoes and clothes you can move around in are recommended as you will be walking on arena sand (loosely packed sand) or outdoors on the gravel and grass.
ALL fitness levels are appropriate for Equine Gestalt Coaching. We will not be riding horses and I promise we will not be running on any trails (unless that is part of your unfinished business, lol ). All coaching sessions are set-up with your safety in mind.
What if I'm afraid of horses?
It is ok if you have fears. You will NEVER be asked to do anything that you are not comfortable with in your sessions or with the horses. NO horse experience is needed. You will not be riding the horse in your sessions. Each session is as unique as the client though most begin with your horse partner in the round pen while you are on the outside of the pen. However, depending on the experience or “piece of work” your exploring, you may choose to be in the round pen with the horse for coaching and energy healing.
The horse is an active, intuitive, healing partner in the coaching experience and respects your boundaries. Horses have the ability to offer their healing, raising your energy fields from a distance so you do not have to be in the round pen with the horse to receive their healing benefit. However, once engaged in the sessions, most clients become more comforable in the horse’s presence, feel the healing taking place and are eager to be closer to their horse partner.