Welcoming a new member to the team!
This fall will be an exciting time here at Stable Ground Counseling as we welcome a new member to the team! Haley Houck is a UNCW student, working toward her bachelors degree in Public Health. She will be joining us as an intern for her final semester, learning what it takes to run an equine-assisted psychotherapy practice. She will be taking over the Stable Ground Counseling blog as well as other social media for the practice. We wanted to share this exciting news with all of you and give Haley a chance to introduce herself! Without further ado, here’s Haley!
Hello! My name is Haley Houck and I was born and raised in Wilmington North Carolina. As a child, my love for horses began with my first pony, Nemo. While he was a small Shetland pony, he proved to be a handful. My parents decided I needed riding lessons if I was ever going to get Nemo to do what I wanted, instead of what he wanted. After my first lesson I never looked back. Over the years I have competed in the hunter/jumper show circuit, worked at local farms involved in care-taking of horses, and volunteered as a counselor for summer riding camps. As a junior in high school I set out to conquer a new challenge of training my own off the track thoroughbred, Patrick. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It not only taught be about riding, but also how horses can make a profound impact on our lives. I learned more about myself through that process than anything else I had gone through before. When I began to think about my future and what career path I should follow, I always wondered if there was a way to combine my two passions: horses and wellness.
This is when I came across Stable Ground Counseling! I thought it must be too good to be true and reached out to Rebecca, hoping to get a few words of advice. Not only did I get great advice, but she has taken me under her wing and has graciously agreed to be my mentor for my final semester as an undergrad. I am absolutely thrilled to join the team and to gain experience in this field. I will be serving as an equine specialist utilizing my equine expertise, as well as assisting in other projects like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 2020 Community Walk, and supporting her consulting projects with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. I’m excited to learn the back office side of therapy to include billing, note writing, treatment planning, and marketing! I will, of course, be spending plenty of time spoiling the horses and taking care of Mr. Carl Rogers, our barn cat, whom I found as a kitten in the McDonalds parking lot! I hope to meet (or e-meet) you all and look forward to supporting mental health and wellness in this awesome home town of ours!
With gratitude,
Haley
-While COVID 19 has caused all of us to pivot and adjust, we are excited about the future and confident that there is sunshine on the other side of this gloom. We are currently running (limited) in person therapy sessions. These sessions are exclusively outdoors and we maintain proper social distancing. We hope to host some fun (safe), mental health supporting events in the near future as well as share valuable and helpful info virtually. This will be a busy and exciting season here at Stable Ground Counseling, be sure to keep your eye out for more updates and blog posts coming soon!-