Research and Publications
My main interests are around the efficacy and mechanism of action of Equine Assisted Services, stemming from an interest in the way people perceive interactions between animals and humans.
What do our brains make of other species?
How do we interpret them?
Actually, how do we interpret other people?
And in turn, how do we experience ourselves?
And how do these questions, lived through the experiences we have with other species, lead us back to a sense of comfort with who we are?
I don't know yet.
Want to help me find out, or have a question you think I'd be interested in?
Get in touch!
In the meantime, here's some research:
(And a podcast, available here; many thanks to Rupert for having us!)
Mind the Gap – Young People’s Mental Health and Equine Assisted Interventions
S. K Sullivan & Hemingway. (2023) Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the 21st Century
A chapter discussing what the efficacy of EAS programs can reveal about the mental health needs of young people. These needs are investigated across four groups; EAS program culture, features of EAS, experiential learning of emotional skills, and common outcomes of EAS, as well as current research and limitations in the area.
Hemingway, A., & Sullivan, K. (2022). Family process, 61(2), 549-570.
A statistical analysis of outcomes data from 13,805 participants involved in the Troubled Families program. It was found that families referred to The Horse Course typically had more complex needs than families engaged with other interventions offered (such as play therapy), and that The Horse Course was more effective at reducing domestic violence at one year’s follow-up than other interventions.
Sullivan, S. K., Kim, A., Vinicius Castilho, L., & Harris, L. T. (2022). Scientific Reports, 12(1), 13171.
A study investigating whether experience with a species (e.g., dogs) or facial similarity (e.g., chimpanzees) determine the extent to which we can recognise emotion in animal faces. It was found that experience is the stronger predictor, suggesting that people learn to read emotional expressions of other species.
