Date of Award

August 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Justin D. McDonald

Abstract

Past research has suggested that equine-assisted psychotherapy may be an effective, culturally relevant treatment modality for Indigenous individuals with substance-use disorders. The literature also suggests that mental health outcomes may be mediated by an Indigenous individual’s level of acculturation. It was hypothesized that individuals who were traditional or bicultural would report higher levels of satisfaction with their experiences in equine therapy than those who are assimilated or marginal. There were 17 Native American participants who had completed at least 4 weeks of an equine-assisted therapy program who participated in the study. Of the participants, 8 were traditional and 9 were marginal. An independent samples t-test revealed no significant differences between the groups in terms of average satisfaction reported with the equine therapy services they received. Most participants felt generally positive about equine therapy and were satisfied with the equine therapy services they received. While practitioners of equine therapy should still be aware of cultural factors that may impact their work with Indigenous clients, the acculturation level of an individual client likely has little-to-no effect on how satisfied they will be with equine-assisted psychotherapy.

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