Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Graham.
Hi Amanda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It’s hard to say how I started this journey because on some level, I believe that what I am doing now is a culmination of everything I value. My journey has not been straight nor traditional but the throughline has been a passion for animals and a deep curiosity about human behavior. I started as a professional actor, was called into working in animal welfare, and am now in my third chapter with Unbridled Way Forward.
As a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, I founded Unbridled Way Forward in 2020, just before the pandemic started. When people were afraid to be inside, I invited them outside to join me under the trees at my farm. My counseling sessions incorporated horses and nature, and it was in this space that I began to realize my dream. Now, 5 years later, I offer a series of events, including monthly Herd Meditations, retreats and workshops, organizational and personal development programs, as well as my ongoing psychotherapy and counseling practice.
I was first introduced to mental health and wellbeing services incorporating horses (also known as Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, EAP, or Equine Assisted Learning, EAL) in 2003.I was living with my husband and 4 horses in a small rural community in Colorado as director of the Mental Health Center. I received a flyer from an organization called Eagala about a weekend training they were offering in Utah. Something in me sparked and a month later, I found myself driving 9 hours to the 3-day event.
Since that time, I have been a student, practitioner, trainer, teacher, and leader in the field, leaving Eagala in 2020 to start a new international organization called Arenas for Change – ARCH. I joined 6 other colleagues from around the world to form ARCH and we continue to provide innovative trainings for clinicians and other helping professionals who want to incorporate horses and a story framework into their healing work with clients. We also learn from each other, with a mindset of “we are all learners and we are all teachers”. They inspire me.
When I think about how I got here, I can look back and see a path, a pattern of call and response, that continues to guide my decisions today. Noticing when I felt that spark, as mentioned above, at different times, has helped me get curious about what I am being called to. As the curiosity has grown, I have found myself at different thresholds. Will I take the risk to cross over into what is unknown but sparks interest or will I stay with the status quo? Will I stay in the ordinary world of my current life, or will I step forward?
Mentors and guides have been invaluable, encouraging me along the way, showing up at times when I most needed them – a blessing, as I stood at a crossroads. They provided information, wisdom, and support as I made the commitment to continue forward. I am forever grateful for them.
Goethe says that the moment one commits oneself, “then Providence moves too, providing unforeseen meetings, incidents, and material assistance that one could not have dreamed would come their way.” This has certainly been my experience.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t know if I have ever seen a smooth road! Maybe to start off, but at some point, when you keep adding miles to the journey, you will encounter roadblocks, potholes, and wrong turns. Guaranteed.
One of the struggles has been the impact of following my callings on the people who love me, my family and friends. A characteristic of callings is that they are often not logical and may seem impossible to follow. They oftentimes require uprooting and leaving to move away from what has been and step into what is yet to come.
Not surprisingly, one of the biggest struggles to start Unbridled Way Forward was that I chose to leave my full-time senior executive position at a major behavioral health company. I had been there for 7 years and had established myself as an organizational change agent with a good salary and excellent benefits.
During those 7 years, I had continued to work with Eagala as a trainer part time but could feel the pull of the horses and my desire to be of service to people in a more direct way. After much discussion over many months, I made the decision – with my husband’s nervous blessing – to leave the security of my position to start my own practice. That was the beginning of my current chapter.
Fundamentally, though, I had faced the biggest struggle of my life when I was only in my early 30s. My then husband was diagnosed with cancer and died 9 months later after surgery and extended chemotherapy. In that dark time, in the abyss, I had to find the courage to put one foot in front of the other and allow the people who cared about me to help me start again. But I was forever changed by it, and that loss became the backdrop against which all other struggles have been measured. If I could work through that at such an early age, I knew I could face the future, whatever it held. And I learned the power of friends, mentors and guides.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Unbridled Way Forward?
What should we know?
Unbridled Way Forward (UWF) is a one-of-a-kind, intentionally curated mental health and wellbeing practice where horses, nature, and mindful presence guide adults through seasons of change and self-discovery. We provide facilitated experiences with horses designed to help each person connect with their courage, clarity and confidence and discover their own authentic path.
All of our sessions are done on the ground – that is, we don’t ride the horses – and the horses are loose in the pasture as we enter their world. Working outside with horses at liberty to respond as they wish provides so many opportunities for people to learn about themselves – their strengths and their challenges. While talking about problems can have tremendous benefit, bringing someone outside into a new environment with horses can bring their issues to life, to be explored in the moment. It’s experiential therapy and learning at its best, because in our processing, we also explore the horse’s responses to the person’s non verbal communication. The horses are equal partners in this work and sometimes they bring out the untold story.
It’s also notable that all 4 of our horses are seniors, the youngest being 20 years old and the oldest almost 30. UWF is a soft landing for these amazing beings. They have all been retired from teaching children how to ride and have been donated to UWF to work with people eye to eye. I have watched each of them flourish as they became acclimated to their new home and their new responsibilities without being ridden. Caring for senior horses is a special calling, as they have personalized feeding requirements, medications, and emergency needs as their bodies continue to age. End of life care and making end of life decisions is what we have signed up for and it is an honor to walk with these horses as they shine in their new role helping people in a new way.
What do you do?
Unbridled provides a wide variety of equine assisted services and trainings. Five years ago, we started with psychotherapy and counseling incorporating horses and quickly realized there was a need and desire for something more open ended for the community. Because of my background and training in Mindfulness meditation, we launched monthly Herd Meditations where people from the community can participate in guided meditation followed by silent time in the pasture with the herd. They are amazingly popular.
In response to requests from people seeking more focused coaching and personal development, I created an 8 session program incorporating the herd called Unbridled Self Journey (USJ) which is informed and inspired by anthropologist Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey”. The journey involves a well established trajectory of change involving several milestones, including facing our biggest challenges as a way of finding courage. It totally resonates with my belief that we find our greatest strengths by facing our biggest fears.
We also host national trainings for Arenas for Change ARCH where professionals who want to incorporate horses and a story mindset into their work can have two days of hands on experience, led by me and other ARCH cofounders. Full and half day retreats are offered a few times a year with a particular topic, like Grief or Gratitude. Private organizational wellness and team building events are offered as requested. I am always open to new ideas and collaborations which is one of the advantages of being a small practice. We are nimble and can truly focus on meeting each person’s or organization’s individual needs.
What are you known for?
Facilitating transformative experiences with horses in a peaceful and psychologically safe setting.
What do you specialize in?
I specialize in working with people who want an integrated, experiential approach to what’s keeping them stuck. Something more holistic, sometimes with a spiritual component. Most of the people who come here are looking for help with something that’s not working in their lives – maybe an unexpected life transition, grief, anxiety, depression, a relationship issue – and they don’t know how to get unstuck.
They may have been through traditional therapy and are searching for something deeper and more meaningful. Relief from symptoms is important, but often people are also looking for more – for their purpose, their calling, their path. They feel like they’ve lost their way and don’t know how to move forward. As prey animals, horses are always living in the present moment, because that’s how they survived in the wild. This quality of presence invites people out of their busy minds, and into their bodies, where their true wisdom lies. Horses allow the deep and exciting work of discovery to happen in an emotionally safe environment.
What sets Unbridled Way Forward apart from others?
I’ve already talked about what UWF does that is different from other mental health providers and organizational development specialists – the horses, the setting, the mindfulness, nature, etc. Those aspects are certainly differentiators that set UWF apart.
But when I think about differentiators between UWF and other programs that incorporate horses to help people, I first want to say that there are many, many incredible programs across the country, around the world, and in the local community that do good work with horses to help people. In my 20+ years in the field, I’ve had the privilege of working with many of them over the years. And the field is growing.
Ultimately, though, Unbridled Way Forward is a culmination of my life’s work so far, and a manifestation of my vision to help people through horses and mindful presence. It is a unique vision – not better or worse than others. But that vision has infused all aspects of UWF from its name, to the building of the barn and pasture, to the feel and ambience of the farm, to the horses we care for, to the programs we offer, how we provide services, to the people we serve, and on and on.
Like Joseph Campbell, I believe that the journey of a lifetime is becoming who we are, and that we all have a unique gift that we are intended to discover and bring to the world. Nothing stays the same and we are always evolving. Unbridled Way Forward is my effort to support others in finding their gifts and bringing them into fruition. It is only through these seemingly small steps that we can make a real change in the world.
Who we serve
We honor the diversity of our clientele, working with veterans, leaders of large corporations, writers, health care providers, medical students, IT people, LGBTQ individuals, artists, other mental health providers, retirees, etc. Really any adult who wants to explore their lives and struggles. While we occasionally serve older teenagers, we do not serve children.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I think the key to finding a mentor is to keep asking questions and follow your gut as far as finding people who are not only good at what you want to do, but also that align with your values. Values alignment is very important. As for networking, the best advice I know is to put yourself in the right places. Don’t be afraid to reach out to successful people. They probably had a good mentor too and would hopefully want to pay it back. Keep your eye on the long game. There will be many disappointments and derailments along the way, but some of the most devastating derailments in the long run can turn out to be the best thing that could have happened.
Finally, I’ll share the best piece of advice I received from my dear friend and mentor, Lynn Moore, of Acres for Life Therapy and Wellness Center in Minnesota, “Start where you are.” Don’t wait until you have everything perfectly set up. Don’t compare yourself to established programs. Decide what is absolutely needed and start with that. You can build from there. And that is how I started Unbridled Way Forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.unbridledwayforward.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/unbridled_way_forward
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnbridledWayForward/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-graham-lcmhc-11236631/
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@UnbridledWayForward
