Education Programs
Renewing Hope Ranch’s mission is to bring education to providers and spread awareness of how horses can help in the pursuit of healing. We want to teach and train people how to incorporate horses into a mental health setting as well as continue to build their therapeutic skills as a professional.
The formation of our programs come from our passion and the knowledge that has been passed down to us. Our Education Coordinator, Brandy Burch PsyD, PSY, PMH-C, has helped in creating content that provides other professionals the ability to come to programs that have the potential to meet continuing education criteria. Brandy and Rebecca have come together and combined both of their educational experience as well as their professional experience to build and compile programs and workshops we saw as vital to our development, the development in the field of mental health, and in the development of the equine therapy world.
“When you know better, you do better.” —- Maya Angelou
Through the years I have seen a beauty that has come from learning more and immersing myself in the world of psychotherapy and horses. I have learned so many nuances and ways of living not only to help my clients but to also allow myself to become a better professional and person. My mission and vision for providing programs comes back to wanting to make the world a better place (as cliche as it sounds).
The creation of our training program came from this realization that we only have so much reach in our sphere of impact and the more people we are able to train and provide education for the more our sphere grow. Because then that person can go out and impact their sphere etc. our ripple effect. Our desire is to help educate those that can spread the knowledge and create a world that better understands horses, mental health and how the two of them can be interconnected.
About Brandy Burch PsyD, PSY, PMH-C
I earned my doctorate in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) from the University of Indianapolis in 2013. Alongside my clinical work—primarily providing therapy to children and teens in a private group practice—I developed a passion for teaching. I served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of the Cumberlands for several years, where I taught undergraduate psychology courses. This experience allowed me to combine real-world clinical insights with academic instruction, helping students connect theory to practice in meaningful ways.
Fast forward several years into my career – I sought training in equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) and officially opened my own private practice offering EAP in 2022. While there are various training and certification programs geared towards preparing students, coaches, and licensed therapists to do this kind of work, Rebecca and I both realized there is very little out there regarding continuing education in this field. In response, we decided to partner up and began developing and leading workshops that introduce the principles and practices of equine-assisted psychotherapy. These workshops are designed to be experiential, informative, and grounded in clinical relevance—and focused on continuing learning in this very specialized field.
As a therapist, I am heavily influenced by the work of Dan Siegel, Bessel van der Kolk, Bruce Perry, and Deb Dana. I work from a trauma-informed, attachment theory lens and have advanced training in EMDR and Brainspotting. My equine-assisted psychotherapy training comes from the Gestalt Equine Institute of the Rockies (GEIR) and Natural Lifemanship.
About Rebecca Winn MA, LPC, NCC, GEP
I started my education pursuit in 2012 with my Masters of Arts in Counseling. My love for wanting to help people merged with my love for horses and animals. I got her equine therapy certificate through the Gestalt Equine Institute of the Rockies. I have been level 2 trained through Natural Lifemanship and have been level 1 trained through Equusoma.
My passion for understanding trauma and the impacts of trauma on the brain and nervous system has driven me into many studies and continuing education around Polyvagal Theory, Bruce Perry’s work, Bessel van der Kolk’s work, Dan Siegel’s work, and about being trauma-informed in all areas. I am also passionate about attachment theory and how our early childhood experiences impacts and shapes our relationships throughout our lifetime. I have studied under Duey Freeman and learned his attachment model and has also watched many of Diane Poole-Heller trainings that have shaped how I look at and work with attachment.
I has been a supervisor since 2018 and I love teaching counselors through supervision. I am ready to be able to meet and be able to teach more and so through collaboration with Brandy Burch decided to create courses connected to equine therapy and my therapeutic passions. I want to be able to reach other providers and give them opportunities to learn and grow their sphere within mental health and equine assisted psychotherapy.
Workshops Offered Through Renewing Hope Ranch
Introduction to Equine Assisted Psychotherapy
The Science of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Through the Lens of Theoretical Orientation
Polyvagal and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy
We hand (and head) created all of our programs from materials and people we have learned from as well as tailored each training from what we have learned in our work with clients. We have seen huge impacts in how horses and our education has created change and healing in our client’s lives. Our hope and mission is to pass along what we have learned and how we have incorporated our teachings in our professional and personal lives to other professionals.
“Education is the key that unlocks the golden door to freedom.” —George Washington Carver