Dr. Brenda E. Abbey

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2024 Forming % Alberta - Bred Racehorse partnerships *   *  Owner Dr. Brenda E. Abbey*Use Contact  website page for details

12/6/2021

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A Healthy Play Diet: Why it is Important ?

3/29/2016

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Just like nutritional diets, a healthy play diet must be balanced and proportional for children to achieve active healthy development.
​Social play is defined as an activity in which engagement and interaction with others is the core aspect of the play. It  is a powerful tool for teaching communication displaying empathy and sharing.
​Creative play is an opportunity to explore their interests and skills. It involves developing artistic talents such as music or painting and can also involve constructive play such as building or engineering play activities.
​Free play is particularly important for young children as it encourages them to use their imagination. As children get older ,free play tends to be replaced by more organized sports, music, martial arts or dance. 
​Digital play is an important component and the most current research shows that the judicious use of digital media can exercise critical thinking skills , improve academic performance and provide valuable experiences for social emotional development as well.

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Praise vs Encouragement: How they impact MOTIVATION

1/21/2016

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 The impact on MOTIVATION  differs between Praise and Encouragement.  Discover the value of understanding the psychological implications for your family as well as business associates.
In the psychological field, Maslow’s pioneering research into motivation demonstrated that every human being is motivated to varying degrees by a series of physiological, safety, security and belonging needs.
One of the many lessons I learned as a psychologist working with youth having severe emotional and learning disabilities was the importance of assessing the client’s needs. After many years of experience I learned that when behaviour is reinforced it is repeated. As a Special Educator, I viewed child and youth behaviour as a desire to have unmet needs recognized and addressed. By determining, then addressing and meeting the client’s needs, I observed an immediate de-escalation of the undesirable behaviour in the treatment setting. By focusing on a Strength Based Intervention Framework, our team believed in “letting the people be different” and we worked carefully at celebrating and nurturing the strengths of all clients and therapy team members.
As part of an interdisciplinary team of professionals, I recognized the importance of a positive atmosphere and I realized there are many key understandings about the concept of Motivation that could be transferable to any business environment and would contribute toward the building of positive energy and an enabling environment for all stakeholders.
Why is it that some environments promote learning and growth, while others hinder it?
I believe there are lessons to be learned  from psychological research studies involving the topic of Motivation. Many studies have shown that students’ feelings of being connected and cared for by their teachers correlate with academic achievement and elevate their sense of worth and these are important factors for increasing motivation and success.
How could Motivation and a Sense of Worth be fostered in your business environment and social interactions?
Even today, there is a mistaken belief that praise will automatically build self- esteem, and many educators, parents and business managers are guilty of not understanding the implications and differences between the concepts of “Praise” and “Encouragement”.
While many people think of praise and encouragement as being the same, I predict there is a valuable interpersonal and business lesson to be learned when there is an understanding and appreciation of the differences between these two concepts. Even though praise works, hopefully I will guide you into recognizing that encouragement works better in a variety of business and life situations.
Praise is a judgment, while encouragement is acknowledgement. Praise uses language that judges, encouragement uses language that notices. Praise is given when the person is successful [“You met the sales quota, I am proud of you!”], while encouragement can be given even when the person is experiencing frustration. [“I noticed you have been working hard on that challenging report, keep it up!”]
Praise and encouragement foster different reactions from the intended recipients. Praise promotes competition by comparing one performance with another, it focuses on the quality of the performance and ignores the efforts or motives. Praise fosters the dependence upon the opinions of others.
Encouragement fosters cooperation and collaboration and focuses on the individual’s effort and progress. The person feels valued rather than evaluated. Encouragement recognizes the individual’s contribution to the common good of the organization. It promotes effort and enables the individual to accept setbacks and mistakes, allowing for more independence and motivation. Encouragement realizes that any learning is a process and improvement is always a possibility. In business and in all aspects of life, anyone can criticize. The art of Encouraging requires people who are sensitive, compassionate and creative.
How will you apply these key understandings to your business and personal interactions?
Written by Dr. Brenda E. Abbey

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Attachment and Empathy -Lessons from Mares and Foals

7/31/2014

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Attachment is the first CORE Personality  STRENGTH.  Here is a special picture of my mare A Hit Indeed with her first born colt sired by the stallion Wilko. There are many lessons to be learned through the  observation of the   mares with their new thoroughbred foals at Peaceful Valley Stable near Didsbury , Alberta. This helps us understand that throughout life the ability to form attachments is an essential part of healthy emotional development . For both horses and children, first relationships and interactions help define our capacity for ATTACHMENT and sets the tone for all of our future relationships. During Healing with Horses sessions , children and youth are able to observe interactions of mares and foals and this provides a learning opportunity to develop ATTUNEMENT and EMPATHY. The founder of the ROOTS of EMPATHY program believes that " Empathy can't be taught BUT it can be caught." I believe that interactions with horses can facilitate that.
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How Can Equine-Assisted Therapy Re-pattern the Limbic System?

1/31/2014

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I have written a research article which supports the benefits of Equine-Assisted experiential learning sessions for children.
Recently, I had the  unique opportunity to visit the Greater Edmonton area and participate as a guest in The Arabian Horse Literacy Reading Project.
I was able to take this special picture  which captures a special bonding moment and  shows the real interactions that were taking place.

The experience was magical as I  participated in the learning activities and interacted with  the Elementary students, the horses and the DONKEY who was a star !!

Below is the link to  their Arabian Horse Reading website .
You can view a wonderful VIDEO called Reading with the Horses and there are also Research links to this  Professional Research article-How Can Equine-Assisted Therapy Re- Pattern the Limbic System?
There are also 2 other links to articles that I have written called Equine -Assisted Learning-Healing with Horses as well as Praise versus Encouragement
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Enjoy!!
Dr. Brenda E. Abbey



http://www.arabianhorsereading.com/feedback.html
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Working Memory Difficulties In The Classroom

10/27/2013

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In many classroom learning activities , considerable burdens are  placed on a student’s working memory, whether related to Mathematics, Reading,  Written Language, Science or Social Studies. Activities which require the student to hold in their brain  some information{ a sentence to be written down} while spelling the individual words in the sentence are the kinds of classroom learning activities on which children with poor working memory struggle with the most. As a result, many students with poor working memory fail to complete their assignments properly because they have lost the crucial information needed to guide their actions.
Working memory failures can manifest themselves in frequent errors like;-incomplete recall, failing to follow instructions or forgetting the content of an instruction or only remembering a part of the sequence,  short unorganized written output, place-keeping errors and task abandonment where the child gives up on the assignment completely.

In order to avoid working memory related failures, educators need to be aware of the cognitive processing demands on working memory loads, then decrease the working memory loads in a variety of structured classroom learning activities. 


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Planning for Success with Racehorses and Children

6/12/2013

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 Since there is uncertainty about outcomes , any  new learning experience is often scary for both children as well as young  racehorses. I have found planning for success in any learning activity  involves an understanding  of the unique  temperament and needs of either the child or the young thoroughbred.  One training plan does not fit  all children or young horses.
I believe  attachment provides a strong foundation for the child as well as the young racehorse and reaffirms the importance of establishing a relationship to develop trust and motivation to learn.

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Agenda versus Plan : What Racehorses and Children can Teach us

12/20/2012

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As a breeder and owner of registered Thoroughbreds as well as a Child Cognitive Psychologist in private practice,  I have realized that understanding the difference between an Agenda and a Plan is important when developing the strengths of both  young racehorses and students.
Agendas are rigid and without tolerance and adhering to AGENDAS when working with young horses or children's literacy learning  does not work as effectively as having a PLAN.
A plan means you have a specific outcome or goal in mind , however the HOW of  plans are flexible and can change , depending on  the specific characteristics/ strengths of the child  or the young horse.
In essence , one size does not fit all and those AGENDA followers  who are not flexible, end up frustrating everyone. Having a Plan allows us to change with the circumstances, eliminating the methods that do not work for the child or the young horse , while still focusing on what is important . All involved appreciate the focus on a positive learning atmosphere and interactions which will help reach the desired results.
Dr. Brenda E. Abbey  

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New Book  -"In My Mother's Hoofprints"

7/30/2012

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Crimson Deed became  a racing winner in 2012. She is shown here at 10 days old  with her Champion Mother -Crimson Hue.
 
 Sadly her mother died when this filly was 3 months old.
Crimson Deed's story of overcoming obstacles and growing up as an orphan is the inspiration for a new Children's Therapy Picture /Storybook written by
                                              her  Thoroughbred owner/ breeder Dr. Brenda E. Abbey.
 This book will be of value as a therapy storybook as it relates to themes of loss, determination and the importance of Mother/ Baby attachment .
Crimson Deed has also  been a therapy partner for children involved in Equine- Assisted Learning sessions facilitated by Dr. Abbey . Children interacted with Crimson Deed and marvelled at her story of dealing with being alone after her mother died.
Contact Dr. Brenda E. Abbey for more information.

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Equine Facilitated Learning : Healing with Horses - Interacting with Thoroughbred Foals

12/9/2010

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There is no finer mirror of our true nature than the horse.

This experiential nature of interacting with Thoroughbred horses on a large breeding farm in Alberta encourages self- awareness, self- regulation and personal reflection for children and youth.
 Dr. Brenda E. Abbey's counselling experience  and research indicates that Equine Facilitated Learning increases the child/ youth  client's awareness of their own emotional state and non -verbal body language based on recognizing the horse's reactions during the interaction time in the pasture or private paddock. This type of experiential learning with horses has proven very effective as a positive intervention  for children with ADD/ADHD . Even very young foals will react and provide a MIRROR for the client.
Dr.  Brenda E. Abbey has written an  article on Healing with Horses as well as another Research Paper   about How Equine- Assisted Learning Repatterns the Limbic System in children's brains { based on her own Applied research in this area}.

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    Author-Dr. A.

    I earned a Doctorate in Applied Research/ Cognitive Psychology and am an educator who is passionate about understanding and promoting Intelligent Behaviours . I am a continuous life long  learner and enjoy researching and writing about emotional and social intelligence.

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