Spirit’s Whisper Ranch offers support for PTSD
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Police officer Steve Stokan has had PTSD for 24 years of his 28-year career.
One of 220 London Project Trauma Support members, which includes first responders and military personnel from across Southwestern Ontario, Stokan said there were few resources for first responders when he “crashed” in 2016. He did not want to join a 60-day residential program for Traumatic Stress Recovery.
“I just didn’t want to go there,” said Stokan. “Since 2017 we’ve been coming to Spirit’s Whisper Ranch on group retreats. We started coming out here after we were invited for ‘group’… and out here I feel like I don’t have PTSD. I feel calm, I feel like all my symptoms melt away.”
Owned and operated by Kristi Rockley, who had a 20-year policing career, Spirit’s Whisper Ranch, south of Straffordville, has a herd of seven horses (two are currently off-site) offering horse-guided learning experiences.
Stokan said first responders and their spouses have experienced themed retreats including paint days, psycho-educational days and regular ‘group’ days.
“If you’re a member of ‘group’ you’ll realize that you’re a normal person having a normal reaction due to the things that you see or commit.”
Their members come from Windsor, Chatham, Woodstock, Brantford and more. Some even crossed the border from Detroit.
There are Project Trauma Support groups all over Ontario and the London area group is the largest in Canada.
With 5,500 first responders experiencing PTSD in Ontario, and 11,000 in Canada, Stokan said the country has third highest PTSD rate in the world.
He cited an article by CAMH (Canadian Addictions and Mental Health) in 2018 that reported 29 per cent of all first responders would get PTSD in their career.
“We’re in a crisis,” said Stokan. “It’s been accelerated due to COVID … and for policing in particular the ‘defund policing’ has really injured a lot of officers. I signed up for the job knowing that I could die doing it, but when you perceive that people (are not supporting police) I often wonder if it’s worth it.”
Before COVID, London Project Trauma Support members were visiting Spirit’s Whisper Ranch monthly. During COVID they connected online with Zoom calls.
“We had to adapt. Now that COVID is lifting we’re going to be returning regularly.
“When you have PTSD, people just think ‘Oh, you’re stressed out.’ But it attacks you in a physiological sense. I have a lot of cognitive deficits. I also have a lot of physical pain manifesting as a result of my mental pain. I have sleep disturbances. Anger and aggression. Sixty per of our members have an active addiction of some sort … and coming out here kind of allows you to become mindful of the energy and the attitude that you have.”
Horses react to that, said Stokan.
“When I first started coming out here the horses wouldn’t go near me. I did some internal self-inspection and I found that as I realized that I had a lot of suppressed anger, I let that go and the horses started approaching me, and then became more loving and caring. It was really neat. I love it.”
Distance and time away from the stress is needed, he said.
“This is distant and there’s no time when you’re here,” Stokan concluded. “All your problems kind of melt away.”
“Yeah, horse time out here, there’s no arms on the clock,” smiled Rockley, who started Spirit’s Whisper Ranch 11 years ago.
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