Jennifer Diethrich

Education and Training Jennifer Diethrich, LPC received her Master's in Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education from the University of Colorado, Denver in 2000. She has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and community/school systems. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Certified Counselor (NCC) and has an Equine Assisted Mental Health (EAMH) certificate from the University of Denver. Jennifer was a school counselor for 20 years and has a registered therapy dog, Rio. Specialties Jennifer specializes in Solution Focused and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, as well as Animal and Equine Assisted Learning and Psychotherapy. She has experience with the neurobiology of trauma and attachment and likes to focus on self-regulation, and emotion and stress management. She has been a suicide prevention trainer and member of suicide prevention coalitions in La Plata County. Building strong therapeutic relationships and helping others discover their strengths to find solutions to their challenges is a passion for Jennifer. She especially enjoys partnering with horses to provide experiences that help clients gain self-awareness and apply new skills to their daily life. She provides Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) for individuals and groups. ​ What is EAP and how do horses help? Partnering with horses helps clients facilitate change and growth through movement, touch, and relationship building. EAP is experiential learning with specifically designed activities created for each session. EAP is powerful and memorable. Horse and client interactions and activities build confidence, self-esteem, trust, leadership, and communication in a safe and non-threatening outdoor environment. Clients find personal meaning in each session, apply their experience to their life, and feel more in control through increased self-awareness, mindfulness, and emotion management. This therapeutic setting naturally generates an environment where clients of all ages learn to take risks, share feelings, and try new ideas in an safe space with a non-judgmental horse by their side. Jennifer has lived in the Durango area since 1988 and is a Fort Lewis College alumni. She loves everything to do with the outdoors including skiing, camping, rafting, biking and of course riding her horses in the beautiful mountains of Southwest Colorado!