Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Carylin Ellis, PsyD

Second Advisor

Shaun Davis, PsyD

Third Advisor

Nahanni Freeman, PhD

Abstract

Emotionally Focused Therapy has also been proven to help individuals to feel an improved sense of trust and dyadic adjustment in their relationships (Morgis et al., 2019; Kennedy, 2019). Hold Me TightⓇ (HMT) is an evidence-based workshop designed by Dr. Sue Johnson. Research on HMT has shown that couples significantly improved their relationship satisfaction and the security of their bond (Conradi et al., 2017). Equine-assisted interventions that are paired with therapeutic interventions have been shown to be effective in improving couples’ sense of relationship quality (Willmund et al., 2021). A combination of equine-assisted emotionally focused couples therapy has yet to be explored and was addressed with this study. Participants in this study will be adult men and women who attend a three-day couple’s workshop facilitated by certified Eagala providers. They will complete the Trust Scale (Rempel et al., 1985) and Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spainer, 1976) along with demographic information and a feedback survey. We hypothesize that Hold Me TightⓇ Plus will see higher levels of trust and dyadic adjustment among couples after they attend the workshop.

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