Mica Graves combines her experience as a therapist, horsewoman, and therapeutic riding instructor. As a graduate of Naropa University's Transpersonal Counseling Psychology program, Wilderness Therapy track, she is trained to work with people therapeutically in connection with nature. She is an Advanced NARHA instructor and an active member of the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association. She has extensive experience working with individuals with different physical, cognitive, and behavioral needs and has trained and mentored other instructors. As a camp director for children and teens of all abilities, she developed successful and engaging programs and curriculum. While she has worked in school and agency environments, Mica believes that therapy in a natural setting can be quicker and more effective. Working with animals in nature helps people develop stronger relationships with themselves and others. Specifically, horses offer people hands-on experience with how to establish firm and loving boundaries. They allow parents, children, and individuals to gain insight into their own process while at the same time developing empathy for others. Mica grew up on a farm surrounded by horses, cows, chickens, dogs, and cats. Today, she continues to ride and train dressage. She appreciates the restorative power of nature, which can be calming, challenging, fun and invigorating all at the same time. For her and many of her clients, an active relationship with nature is key to feeling healthy, balanced, and connected to something greater than the self.
Rocky Mountain Equi-Rhythm depends on volunteer personnel to help facilitate equine growth and learning sessions and also offers clinical internships in equine-assisted psychotherapy for graduate students in psychology, social work, wilderness therapy, and criminal justice.
Caroline is the Founding and Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Equi-Rhythm and an individual and family therapist in Boulder, CO. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver and certifications in farrier science, equine therapy, and mind and body energy therapy. She has completed training with mentors Adele and Deborah McCormick, authors of Horse Sense and the Human Heart and Horses and the Mystical Path, and is an Associate Professor at Naropa University in the Wilderness Therapy Masters Program, teaching family and equine therapy. A former Probation Officer in Boulder County for ten years, she specialized in working with high-risk adolescents and domestic violence offenders. Caroline has been involved in Boulder County 4-H as a leader for 15 years and has been a member of the Boulder County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue Team. She recently created Foothills Riding Adventures, LLC, to help horse lovers connect with horses and nature on the trails at Joder Ranch.
A contract therapist and founder of Contact With Horses, LLC, Calyn is a child, adolescent, and adult equine-assisted psychotherapist in Boulder, Colorado. She earned a BS in Psychology from Ithaca College and an MA in counseling from Naropa University. She completed her certification in Gestalt Therapy through the Gestalt Institute of the Rockies. In 2006 Calyn received a certification in Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy through EAGALA (equine-assisted growth and learning association). For four years, she was the program director and clinical supervisor for Medicine Horse Program, a non-profit organization located in Boulder. She specializes in grief, trauma, addiction, and attachment and has led groups for women in transition, adolescents with anxiety and depression, war veterans, and children with grief. She has worked with clients locally and from out of state. Calyn grew up on a farm and found that being in daily contact with animals brought her confidence and insight. Her extensive 22 years of experience with horses creates a safe therapeutic environment to learn and grow. Learn more at http://www.contactwithhorses.com.
Jennifer, who joined Rocky Mountain Equi-Rhythm in November 2004, is currently facilitating the equine-assisted psychotherapy program and feels deeply inspired to share in a vision for Equi-Rhythm and the community of Boulder. Jennifer has had seven years of social work experience with a variety of populations. She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Maryland and became licensed in the state of Maryland in 1999. Her skills include working with severely emotionally disturbed children, adolescents, and their families in a special education setting; crisis intervention with survivors of sexual assault and incest; group and family therapy with children and families in therapeutic foster care; inpatient adult and child psychiatry; and working with a variety of clients in community outpatient centers. Jennifer also has special training in individual, group, and family therapy with the Hispanic population and enjoys speaking Spanish. She completed an internship at Spirit Horse Ranch in 2005 and is currently employed by the Compass House, a non-profit organization committed to helping Boulder adolescents. Jennifer has been a lifetime student of riding and training horses, having been involved in 4-H and the hunter-jumper horse show worlds. She worked for Dr. Karen Stell, an equine veterinarian, for five years and was a barn manager at Andover Equestrian Center in Linthicum, Maryland.
Before beginning his counseling career, Max guided international experiential education programs in Asia for seven years and was a high school teacher in Thailand and Texas. Max is now in his third year of graduate school in Counseling Psychology at Naropa University and is currently practicing as an intern psychotherapist at Rocky Mountain Equi-Rhythm. He specializes in wilderness therapy and equine-assisted therapy, helping teens and young adults with issues surrounding loss and grief, transitions, and family and community relationships. Max grew up with horses on his parents' small plot of land in southeast Pennsylvania and currently calls Nederland, Colorado his home. He has been with Rocky Mountain Equi-Rhythm since January 2009.