Coaching sessions with our equine partners, providing a safe place for healing from trauma / PTSD, and removing negative energy being held in your body.
are you ready to step away from your past?
Walk with a Horse into the Future
I’m Darlene Colbourne
I am certified Equine Gestalt Coach at Journey Into Wholeness. My mission is to make a difference helping people find their freedom and peace however it looks to them. This extensive certification program is a two-year intensive trauma training program with both classroom and hands-on instruction.
I was a trained Volunteer Firefighter for over 20 years and worked in a Safe House for women fleeing abuse. Over the years, I have taken many courses and workshops to facilitate my roles.
I am a Gestaltist
Living a Gestalt life is a way of living in the present moment, learning to respond instead of react. Making choices to live life authentically and speaking your truths…a modality of self awareness…looking at all parts of self and choosing who you want to show up and when. A life of peace, freedom and for me making a difference for those I meet.
Some things Gestalt can help you with …
Mental Health
PTSD
The Aftermath of Domestic Violence
Professional & Person Trauma
Grief
Professional Interactions
Family Health
Team Building
Leadership
Do you recognize yourself in these statements?
I feel worn down, overwhelmed, sometimes it’s hard to think clearly. I can’t remember when I noticed the change, it just sort of became normal again.
There’s this heavy feeling. It’s more than a Bad call or a Bad day. It’s like all the time and the funny thing is I’m not really sure why?
I just feel this giant weight and I carry it everywhere…I can’t unwind even when I take time off. I don’t feel relaxed I’m on edge…every day.
I am tired all the time…I snap at my wife and my kids…even the guys at work. It’s like I am under a cloud and just can’t seem to get out from under it.
I know where you are — and I know how to lead you back out of the darkness. This is not the “therapy” you fear, it is a healing that respects your strength and dignity. You won’t be sitting in a chair, and we won’t “talk” about it in endless detail over and over. We will explore and we will discharge the trauma you’ve picked up in your job. This is truly different, and I sincerely hope you will give it a chance because YOU are important.
Today, I work with fire, EMS, and police every day. I know the death you see and I have walked in the steps you are walking in right now. I reached out for guidance — and it changed my life and how I carry (and put down) all of the trauma I experience in helping others in their most desperate moments. It changed me so much, I spent two years learning the method that walked me out of the darkness.
“Can’t unsee the things I’ve seen … it’s such a heavy burden to carry all this hurting. Another bad dream is stealing my sleep again.”
— Kevin Davison … When those Sirens are Gone
your very next step
Work with Me
One on one
Gestalt is very adaptable and experiencing it one-to-one in a private setting is the prefect option for many people. We can work together over the phone, via zoom, or at the barn with the horses.
Group Program
Groups are the way Fritz Pearls, the father of Gestalt, preferred to work. They offer the unique opportunity of “borrowed benefit” where you gain growth by being present for someone else’s growth. Our groups are a truly expansive way to experience Gestalt.
Workshops
My workshops are focused events that allow you to experience Gestalt in an intenisvie group setting, but in a one or two day format rather than regular meetings like our group sessions.
Retreats
Get away from your day-to-day and discover yourself! My group retreats are designed to rejuvenate, renew, and revitalize you through horses, nature, and Gestalt.
What Drives Me
My Why
I was a volunteer Firefighter for over 20 years in a few different communities around British Columbia. I have a lot of experience and have felt the devastating effects of trauma and PTSD – both personally and in my circles. I know what it feels like to have taken in so much that you can’t possibly put anymore in…You’re Just Done!
As a volunteer Firefighter, Employee, Spouse, Mother, Daughter and Caregiver to everyone but myself, I continued to daily push more down on top of what I had already not dealt with, until I reached a point where I could no longer function. I reached out for help finally, and I simply asked her to listen to me and let me know if I was crazy… she assured me I was not, however, I did need to make some changes.
Things started to shift when I decided to finally choose to put myself first and I discovered the program “Touched By A Horse”. This program has changed my life and turned it around. It has taught me to live in the present moment, to choose myself, to respond instead of react, to live authentically, speaking my truth and releasing and working through all the unfinished business I hadn’t dealt with. Now after 2 years of intensive trauma informed training, I am inspired to make a difference in people’s lives. I am now a certified Equine Gestalt Coach ready to help you find your freedom and peace however that looks to you…through partnering with horses to release what you have been holding on to, choosing to put yourself first.
“Don’t Stop Believing”