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Common mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and stress-related disorders are increasing worldwide, resulting in long-term sick leave and lower quality of life. Traditional treatment is often insufficient to facilitate the recovery process, and the need for holistic interventions that enable successful recovery is evident. Equine-assisted interventions have shown promising results in health promotion among people with mental disorders, and further research is needed to implement them within the range of available care. The aim of the study is therefore to describe experiences of a therapeutic equine-assisted group intervention for people with common mental disorders on sick leave. The study has a descriptive qualitative design with an inductive approach. Ten participants with common mental disorders on sick leave were interviewed after participating in a 12-week equine-assisted intervention and the data were analysed with conventional content analysis. The analysis generated the overall theme “The equine-assisted group intervention facilitates recovery,” which summons the four categories “The environment of the horses contributes to relaxation and an ability to be in the present,” “The presence of the horses facilitates supportive relationships in the group,” “Interplay with the horses entails physical activity and bodily improvements” and “Emotional interactions with the horses strengthen inner power.” In conclusion, equine-assisted interventions have the potential to facilitate recovery for people with common mental disorders by providing relaxation, promoting the ability to be in the present, cultivating supportive relationships and providing physical activity and bodily improvements as well as emotional interactions that strengthen the participants’ inner power. © 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Bakgrund: Personer med psykossjukdom saknar ofta sociala kontexter och stöd vad gäller möjligheterna att leva ett hälsosamt och meningsfullt liv och de kan ha svårigheter att delta i hälsofrämjande interventioner. Hästunderstödda interventioner har i tidigare studier påvisat positiv påverkan på personer med psykossjukdom i form av till exempel hästarnas lugnande effekt, känslan av att vara normal, bättre självkänsla och ökad fysisk aktivitet. Närstående har ofta en nära kontakt och insikt kring det dagliga livet för deras familjemedlemmar med psykossjukdom och har därför ofta stor insikt i deras förmågor och hälsotillstånd varvid deras erfarenheter kan bidra till professionellt lärande och kunskap om vad som påverkar deras liv.Syfte: Studiens syfte var att beskriva närståendes erfarenheter av en hästunderstödd intervention för personer med psykossjukdom. Metod: Studien hade en kvalitativ och deskriptiv design där 10 närstående till personer med psykossjukdom intervjuats. Data analyserades med hjälp av en konventionell innehållsanalys. Resultat: I resultatet framkom en övergripande kategori "Att vara med hästarna stärker hälso-förmågor" som sammanfattar de fyra subkategorierna "Hästarna bidrar till ett sammanhang med gemensamt fokus, "Interaktion med hästarna stärker självkänslan och motivation", "Samspelet med hästarna väcker positiva känslor" och "Att vara med hästarna uppmuntrar till fysisk aktivitet". Konklusion: Resultatet av denna studie bidrar till den växande andel studier som indikerar att det finns positiva effekter av häst understödda interventioner och att hälsoförmågor hos personer med psykossjukdom har potential att förbättras efter att ha deltagit. Resultatet bidrar till professionellt lärande och ökad kunskap vid vidareutveckling av hästunderstödda interventioner för personer med psykisk ohälsa.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe relatives’ experiences of an equine-assisted intervention for people with psychotic disorders. Methods: The study has a qualitative and descriptive design. Ten semi-structured interviews were performed with relatives of people with a psychotic disorder who had participated in an equine-assisted intervention. A conventional content analysis was used to analyse the data. Result: The overall category “Being with the horses strengthens health capabilities” summarizes the four identified subcategories “The horses contribute to a context with a common focus”, “Interaction with the horses enhances self-confidence and motivation”, “The interplay with the horses nurtures positive emotions” and “Being with the horses encourages physical activity”. Conclusions: The result of this study contributes to the growing body of research about the potential outcomes of equine-assisted interventions. The result also indicates that equine-assisted interventions may improve health capabilities among people with psychotic disorders. The generated knowledge may be useful in mental health services when developing equine-assisted interventions. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group., Funding: The Swedish Postcode Foundation