Stephanie Peterson

Stephanie Peterson is a board certified Psychiatric-Mental Health nurse practitioner with 14 years’ experience helping others face the emotional challenges that are inherent with being human. She began her career as a psychiatric nurse in 2008 and has worked in both outpatient and inpatient settings.  

Stephanie has also had a passion regarding horses since the age of 8 years old when she attended a summer horse camp and continues this interest currently with gentling mustangs. After completing her academic training, she wanted to provide equine-assisted therapy and connected with Roughout Ranch Foundation Inc. (Roughout Ranch) and enrolled in the Horse Encounters Authenticity Workshops: Conscious Connection and Encouraging Engagement. Since then, she has opened her own healthcare organization, Wayshower Behavioral Health, and serves the community in traditional office settings as well as partnering with Roughout Ranch. A Wayshower is someone who pursues life with authenticity and intentional choices. Wayshowers have often experienced challenging times and difficult circumstances that lead to a more profound understanding of the pain and suffering inherent in the human condition. Through the process of overcoming barriers and mastery of challenges they can lead and guide others to their true and full potential.  

Horses are a powerful treatment modality and welcoming them into the therapy environment leads to improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety. The focus of equine-assisted therapy is different from traditional talk therapy, or the technical learning involved in horsemanship skills. Horses are a valuable metaphor for the challenges in life and can help reflect the places we may be “stuck”. Through interactions with the herd and activities that involve obstacles in the arena participants can learn more about their relationships with themselves and how they influence others. Horses are prey animals and can effectively mirror the many emotional states we experience as humans. When we are experiencing mood related problems or difficulties with addiction these symptoms often manifest as anxiety, lack of motivation, avoidance of conflict, and feelings of bodily tension.  

Sessions at Roughout Ranch take place in an oak shaded corral, the arena, or the round pen shaded by sun sails. Stephanie offers sessions with individuals, peer groups, or families. The sessions begin with a brief meet and greet and then move to actively engaging with individual horses or the herd. Shifts, patterns, and unique behaviors between the horses and humans are reflected to the participant where they can express their own meaning for these occurrences. Equine-assisted therapy can help the participants to think more creatively and openly about their life experiences and create a narrative to overcome barriers.