Equine-assisted therapy encompasses a range of treatments that involve activities with horses to improve quality of life and promote physical and mental health of people of all ages. The main object of the thesis was to evaluate how youth experiences the equine-assisted therapy and what is the perspective on this therapy of the social workers working with children and adolescents who are experiencing challenges in the process of growing up. In the theoretical part of the thesis, the focus is on the period of adolescence, youth issues and the role of social workers. Further on I present equine-assisted therapy and its connection with social work in Slovenia and abroad. The empirical part of this thesis presents the results of the research studying the experience of young participants with the equine-assisted therapy. First I present personal experiences of interviewees with this type of therapy, reasons for choosing equine-assisted therapy, changes during the process of the therapy and suggestions to improve the equine-assisted therapy. In this part, I also present the results showing the level of familiarity with the equine-assisted therapy among social workers, their opinion about it and the opportunities they see in equine-assisted therapy for the field of social work.
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