Lee Beers takes joy in spending time with her best friend once a week. As in any positive relationship, the two build each other’s self-confidence.

But this is no ordinary friendship. Beers’ new best friend, Donald, is a horse. They’re both a part of an equine mental health therapy project sponsored by Wyandot Center for Community Behavioral Healthcare in Kansas City, Kan., and Equus Growth and Learning (Now EQUUS Center for Equine Assisted Therapy) in Kansas City.

Beers is one of eight Wyandot Center clients who spend time in the therapy program each Wednesday morning on a ranch off of Raytown Road in Kansas City.

Leslie Young, director of community support services for Wyandot Center, said that she had a growing interest in animals and the roles they play in different kinds of therapy.

“We have a therapy dog here, and I discovered horses through my daughter,” said Young. “When I was around the horses, it took me away from day-to-day concerns.”

That’s when Young started researching equine therapy. When the owners of Equus Growth and Learning heard about her research, they contacted her.

Equus is a three-year-old company founded by Jeanie Bower, an equine specialist, and Cindy Parkans, a licensed clinical social worker. The company specializes in equine mental-health therapy and works mostly with at-risk children who have been removed from their homes or are involved in the juvenile justice system. The company also has a corporate team-building program and has worked with employees from companies such as Hallmark.

Bower and Parkans were certain they could assist clients at Wyandot Mental Health and about nine weeks ago, they began a therapy program involving eight of Wyandot’s patients.

“Sometimes when we start a new program, we will choose people who aren’t struggling, but this program is geared for people who are still struggling,” Young said. “We identified people who are fearful of others and have a mistrust of people.”

The first eight-week program for the first eight clients ended two weeks ago, and the results, Young said, were amazing.

“It was successful for all of our consumers; we saw an increase in self esteem and others felt a deep emotional impact,” said Young.

A new group of eight was preparing to begin therapy last week. The therapy includes learning to groom and halter a horse. Bower and Parkans then lead the group into team-building exercises. They show them how to work with others by teaching their horses to perform activities in an arena.

“The participants do not ride the horses,” Parkans said. “That’s not what we’re about; it’s about building relationships with the horse and others in the group.”

The therapy was working so well for some members of the first group that the staff at Wyandot felt it might be detrimental to end the therapy as scheduled. Those clients were approved for eight more weeks of sessions.

Beers was one of the people who got to come back and spend more time with her horse.

“Me and Donald bonded from the first,” Beers said in a letter she wrote for this article. “I found out we have a lot in common. We both were used, abused, abandoned and nearly destroyed.”

Young said that one of the most interesting aspects is watching how a client chooses a horse.

“People who’ve felt neglected and hurt usually will bond with one of the rescue horses who’s had some of the same experiences,” said Young.

Young said that Beers had a very difficult time with relationships before joining the program and now she enjoys getting close to Donald and grooming him.

“I just got a job and I feel this has made me more emotionally and mentally prepared,” said Beers.

Another client in the program will not leave the ranch until she is sure her horse is safe. “It’s really a metaphor for her own life,” said Young.

Jennifer Wesley didn’t spend a whole lot of time trying to choose a horse during her first session last week; she was drawn almost immediately to Red. “He’s a little shy, like me and he tries to stay to himself,” Wesley said. “But he can be a little aggressive when he wants his way, and so can I.”