Spending time looking after the horses and ponies can highlight the necessity of basic requirements to survive. Physiological needs of food and water are the first basic requirement. We can use the model below to reflect on our needs and horses needs in the therapy sessions and get a good sense of where the levels of self-care and self-compassion are.
“Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs and that some needs take precedence over others. Our most basic need is for physical survival, and this will be the first thing that motivates our behavior. Once that level is fulfilled the next level up is what motivates us, and so on. ” Saul McLeod
Dove Retreat 