Burnout to Balance:
A Restorative EMDR & Equine Retreat
Saturday, May 3
12:30 - 4:30
Escape professional burnout and reconnect with your passion through this unique experiential training designed exclusively for mental health and medical helping professionals. This hands-on continuing education course combines Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with the healing presence of horses to enhance emotional resilience, reduce stress, and expand your therapeutic skill set.
Through immersive, equine-assisted EMDR exercises, you’ll discover how nonverbal communication, somatic awareness, and attunement can amplify emotional regulation and boost professional well-being. Gain insights into the neuroscience behind EMDR and the AIP model, explore the powerful role of equine interactions in therapy, and walk away with practical stress management tools you can immediately apply to both yourself and your clients.
Step beyond the office—reignite your purpose, restore your balance, and transform the way you approach healing…
Medical & Mental Health Professionals
Doctors’ offices direct care staff
Veterinarians & vet techs
Licensed & pre-licensed therapists
Pastoral care providers
Hospital staff
School counselors
Community mental health staff
Elderly & hospice care
Restorative Schedule
12:15 - 12:30 Arrival & Registration
Participants will check in and prepare for the training and set an intentional mindset for the experiential learning ahead.
12:30 Welcome
Begin the day with a clear roadmap of what’s ahead, as we introduce the objectives and structure of this immersive experience. Gain a quick yet powerful overview of how EMDR and equine-assisted therapy work together to enhance healing and resilience.
12:40 Breathing & Brushing: Mindfulness, Nonjudgmental Noticing, Dual Attention, and Anchoring
Experience the healing power of presence as you connect with the rhythm of the horse, learning to anchor yourself in the moment while enhancing emotional regulation and deepening your awareness of nonverbal communication, attunement, and somatic regulation, essential skills for both EMDR therapy and daily stress management.
1:00 - 1:15 Break
1:15 - 2:45 Unlock the Science of Healing: EMDR, AIP, & Group Trauma Processing through GTEP
Dive into the foundational principles of EMDR therapy and discover how the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model explains the brain’s ability to heal from trauma. Learn how unresolved memories are stored, how EMDR facilitates processing, the neurobiological mechanisms of trauma processing, and how equine-assisted interventions enhance somatic regulation and emotional integration. Gain powerful insights and techniques to transform your approach to stress reduction, burnout reduction, and resiliency building.
2:45 - 3:00 Break
3:00 - 4:00 GTEP in the Arena Using Horses and Paints
Step into an immersive, hands-on learning experience where you’ll apply the Group Traumatic Episode Protocol (GTEP) in an equine-assisted setting. Through guided practice in the arena, you’ll integrate resourcing skills and sensory-based interventions with the healing presence of horses to support nervous system regulation, grounding, and emotional processing. Walk away with practical, trauma-informed techniques to ethically incorporate equine-assisted strategies into your work, expanding your therapeutic impact beyond traditional methods.
4:00 - 4:30 Closing & Integration
Gather around the fire for a final grounding practice, supporting nervous system regulation and personal integration. Through a group debrief, reflect on your insights, discuss real-world applications, and explore the professional scope of practice for equine-assisted EMDR referrals. Leave feeling centered, empowered, and equipped to bring these powerful techniques into your professional and personal life.
Bonnie Barclay, MSSW, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and EMDRIA Approved Consultant. She owns a group practice in Knoxville, TN, as well as Evolved EMDR, the consultation side to her business. She co-coordinates the East TN chapter of the Trauma Recovery Network through the EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs (HAP), recently responding to the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, TN. She is a trauma specialist utilizing EMDR as her primary treatment approach. Her clinical interests and expertise include anxiety and panic disorders, phobias and fears, stress management, grief, PTSD, recent/single incident trauma, medical and birth related trauma, as well as developmental and relationship trauma. blbarclay81@gmail.com
Julie Jerrolds, LPC, MHSP is a Licensed Professional Counselor & Mental Health Service Provider (LPC, MHSP) & Certified in EMDR by EMDRIA with over 28 years in the field of counseling. Having worked in areas of trauma recovery, family counseling, addiction, team building & guidance, Julie offers many perspectives when helping clients for whatever reason(s) they come for counseling. She is trained & Certified in several different modalities. Among them are Certification in EMDR (Eye Movement Desentization & Reprocessing), O.K. Corral Certified, Natural Lifemanship, Equine-Assisted-EMDR (Equilateral), DBT, CBT & other Experiential Therapies. Julie also provides Supervision for counselors wanting to obtain their LPC. And Consultation for EMDR Certification. jjerrolds15@gmail.com
Amye R. Cole, LMFT, MA, MBA is a licensed marriage and family therapist in four states, an NBCC International Mental Health Facilitator, a certified EMDR therapist, and an EMDRIA Consultant in Training. She specializes in treating ongoing distress and recent traumatic events for individuals, families, and groups using EMDR. Amye owns and operates Three Leaf Connections and has worked in nonprofits, community agencies, K-12 schools, college/universities, and a non-governmental organization at the United Nations. She has volunteered at Ground Zero after 9/11, traveled with a maternal health nonprofit to rural Nepal, led a mental health education course with survivors of the genocide in Rwanda, actively volunteers with the Trauma Recovery Network to respond to regional mass shootings, and leads mental health education and resourcing workshops. amyecolelmft@gmail.com
Burnout to Balance:
A Restorative EMDR & Equine Retreat
Registration: evolvedemdr.as.me/Retreat
Cost: $320
Space is reserved to 15 participants.
Location: Open Reins Counseling in Seymour, TN
Questions? Email any of us - emails are listed in our bios.
Your Healing is Between You and the Horses
No EMDR Training Required: These programs are open to all clinicians including those with no prior EMDR training.
The program site is ADA compliant. Please contact Julie Jerrolds if special accommodations are required.
Application for EMDRIA Credits is Under Review.
Amye R. Cole and Bonnie Barclay (EMDRIA CE Providers) maintain responsibility for this program and its content in accordance with EMDRIA requirements.