Independent Practitioners
Psychotherapy services are provided by independent practitioners.
Suzanne Case
Suzanne Case runs the farm, teaches riding lessons and yoga, and is both an equine specialist and a therapist for psychotherapy sessions on the farm. She has been working with horses for over 35 years as trainer, teacher (BHSAI certified instructor), rider and caregiver. Her deep belief in the connection and understanding between horses and people has led her to care for horses and co-facilitate equine assisted psychotherapy (EAP) sessions. Suzanne is is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate, and is certified by both PATH International and Eagala.
Matt Case
Matt Case is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) and has been counseling children, adolescents and adults since 2000 in private and community-based settings. He was drawn to using horses in psychotherapy because he saw how it brings to light peoples’ struggles and strengths with an ease and clarity he seldom sees in traditional office-based psychotherapy. Matt’s therapy style draws largely upon mindfulness and acceptance approaches, empowering clients to create rich and meaningful lives by unhooking from undermining thoughts and feelings and taking action towards their values. He also sees clients at his office in Chapel Hill.
Amanda Graham, Psychotherapist
Amanda Graham, MS, is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor who believes that life is a process of change, and people have an infinite capacity to grow through their most difficult challenges to find their greatest strengths. She has spent 20 years working with people who feel confused, stuck or overwhelmed, providing a client directed and supportive place for them to discover the steps they need to move forward. Amanda has been incorporating horses into psychotherapy, learning, and organizational development since 2002 and, like Matt and Suzanne, incorporates a number of different approaches into her work to best meet the client where they are. “Healing happens in relationship. Working with horses allows us to get a different perspective on our lives, with the opportunity to build relationships with powerful, nonjudgmental beings in an emotionally safe environment.” Amanda is founder of Unbridled Way Forward and is grateful to be a part of the ClearWind Farm team. You can learn more about Amanda at her website.
Amber Cox, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Amber Cox is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, mood disorders, trauma, and LGBTQIA+ issues for adults and adolescents. Her love of horses started at a young age, and she was immediately drawn to equine-assisted psychotherapy because of the way that horses can help clients feel simultaneously safe and challenged to tackle their struggles. She believes that horses can be instrumental in showing us our true selves and can help us find meaning in even the smallest of things. She utilizes an integrative therapeutic approach that pulls largely from Dialectical Behavioral and Cognitive Behavioral frameworks, which provides clients an understanding of their thoughts and behaviors, while also teaching skills to reduce distress so that they can be their best, most fulfilled selves. She also sees clients at her office in Durham (https://www.markovitscounseling.com/copy-of-about).
Dr. Melissa Ming Foynes, PhD
Dr. Melissa Ming Foynes is a holistic psychologist, educator, and consultant with nearly 20 years of experience. Melissa believes that everyone has an innate capacity to cultivate resilience, feel fulfilled, and live in alignment with their core values. Through a collaborative partnership, she works with people to compassionately acknowledge ways they feel stuck while also curating a personalized combination of support and tools that will foster steps toward change, regardless of how ingrained certain thought patterns and habits may feel. For Melissa, equine-assisted psychotherapy offers a uniquely experiential way to develop insight and take action, in a truly holistic way that involves body, mind, relationship, heart, and spirit. Melissa received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oregon, completed pre- and postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University School of Medicine and the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, respectively, and held previous academic appointments at Harvard and Boston University. In addition to her work at Clearwind, Melissa has a private therapy practice in Durham and offers online coaching programs and in-person retreats. If you are interested in learning more about Melissa and the therapeutic modalities that inform her work, please visit her therapy website. You can also learn about Melissa’s coaching practice, follow her on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, read her blog, and listen to her podcast, The Science & Soul of Living Well. Additional free resources and ways to learn from Melissa can be found here.
Jennifer Rousseau, Equine Specialist
Jennifer Rousseau is an Eagala-certified Equine Specialist, co-facilitating equine assisted psychotherapy and personal growth sessions. She has loved horses for as long as she can remember and is so happy to be part of the Clearwind Farm team. Originally from the UK, Jenny has called North Carolina home for many years.
Allison Pappas, MSW
Allison Pappas holds an MSW concentrating in Sustainable Development and Global Practice, as well as a certificate in Animal-Assisted Social Work, and has been trained in Natural Lifemanship. She brings over a decade of experience working as an equine professional, in addition to roles in veterinary medicine, office administration, and traditional social work settings. She especially enjoys aiding in the discovery of harmony between human and non-human animals! Allie is ecstatic to now be combining her knowledge and passions for social work, animals, and the environment in her work with the horses, riders, and community at ClearWind as an equine assisted learning practitioner, an equine specialist in therapy, a riding instructor, and an equine consultant.
Harriet Ling, Equine Specialist, Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist
Harriet Ling is a Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist, whose clients include both humans and horses, and is a Natural Lifemanship trained Equine Specialist. Much of Harriet’s childhood was spent riding the endless dirt roads of the South Carolina low country, and her happy place can still be found anywhere she’s out riding the trails. Throughout her life, she has recognized the healing wisdom of horses, and is grateful to be supporting opportunities for emotional growth through connection with horses in the therapeutic environment of ClearWind Farm.
