00:00 – Introduction: Fear, Safety & the Stable Arena 02:45 – How Terri & Laura Found Their Calling 04:50 – The Experiences That Led to Stable Arena 07:01 – Why First Responders Need a Different Approach 09:07 – What Makes Equine-Assisted EMDR Different? 11:50 – How Horses Become Partners in Therapy 13:49 – Can Horses Refuse to Participate in Therapy? 14:38 – What Makes a Horse Right for Therapeutic Work? 17:45 – The Leap of Faith Behind Stable Arena 19:30 – Collaboration, Skepticism & Building Something New 23:25 – What 25+ Years of Trauma Work Has Taught Them 25:54 – Vegas Strong, Route 91 & Understanding Trauma Differently 30:08 – What’s Next for Stable Arena 30:54 – Closing & Next Week’s Episode EPISODE 75 | When Healing Requires a Different Environment What if the environment where we do the work matters just as much as the work itself? In Episode 75 of The Premier Mindset, I’m joined by Terri and Laura, the co-founders of The Stable Arena in Las Vegas, for a conversation about trauma-informed care, EMDR, equine-assisted therapy, nervous-system regulation, collaboration, and what it takes to build something different. The Stable Arena brings together a licensed clinician, an equine specialist, and horses as active partners in the therapeutic process. And the deeper we got into the conversation, the more fascinating it became. We talked about: • Why some people feel safer and more open outside a traditional therapy office • How horses can provide information about behavior, communication, and physiological arousal that people may not consciously recognize • Why first responders can struggle to open up, even when they know they need help • The role of presence, safety, and co-regulation in trauma work • Why horses aren’t simply “props” in therapy, but can become part of the therapeutic environment • What Route 91 and the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center taught Terri about how differently people can experience the same traumatic event • Why effective clinicians have to remain curious instead of assuming they already understand someone’s experience • What collaboration actually looks like when two professionals bring completely different areas of expertise together • And what it takes to build something meaningful when there isn’t already a clear roadmap One of the biggest themes of this episode is something I come back to constantly in performance work: You cannot separate the person from the environment they’re operating in. Whether we’re talking about an athlete, executive, first responder, clinician, or someone trying to recover from trauma, sustainable performance and sustainable healing require us to understand the systems surrounding the individual, not just tell the individual to “work harder.” This was a fascinating conversation about psychology, physiology, environment, collaboration, and what happens when we become willing to approach difficult problems differently. 🎧 Listen to the full episode now on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. If you work with athletes, first responders, high performers, trauma survivors, or you’re simply interested in how the nervous system, environment, and human behavior interact, this episode is worth the full listen. Follow The Premier Mindset and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. 👉 Connect with us now: The Premier Mindset Newsletter → https://trent-mahler.kit.com/profile Instagram → @Premier_Performance_Reno LinkedIn → @Premier Performance LLC Tik Tok → @Premier_Performance_Reno Facebook → @Premier Performance LLC Twitter → @PremierRenoLLC Website → www.PremierPerformanceReno.com Text/Call → (775) 561-0056 Connect with The Stable Arena: https://thestablearena.com #ThePremierMindset #PremierPerformance #MentalPerformance #TraumaInformed #EMDR #EquineAssistedTherapy #NervousSystem #FirstResponders #MentalHealth #HighPerformance #Psychology #PerformancePsychology #Leadership #Resilience
