Mental Health Professionals

Cait Allison, MSW, LCSW, CCH, CIAYT, RYT-500

BA Gender Studies and Human Rights — Davidson College

MSW — UNC-Chapel Hill

Clinical Interests: Clients ages 13 & up, couples and families, trauma, relationship challenges, grief, anxiety and depression.

Cait Allison is a yoga therapist, hypnotherapist, as well as a licensed clinical social worker based in Davidson, NC. She specializes in working with individuals and families navigating trauma, grief, depression & anxiety, and is interested in empowering people to tap into the body's natural resources for resiliency and embodied peace. Cait weaves alternative and experiential practices into traditional clinical practice to offer practical somatic tools to achieve nervous system regulation. She feels called to help humans and horses to reclaim their bodies, minds and spirits as positive, regulated, empowered territories. She has been around horses for the past ten years, and in 2021 decided to take the leap to train more throughly in trauma informed equine assisted psychotherapy through Natural Lifemanship. Cait believes in the power of EFP to provide a safe space for developing healthy relationships and connection to self and others.

-Member: National Association of Social Workers, International Association of Yoga Therapists, National Guild of Hypnotists

Click HERE to schedule an initial consultation with Cait.

Kristen Batchelor, MA, LCMHCA

Founder/Owner - Operations Director

BA English Literature – University of Virginia

MA Counseling -- Wake Forest University

PATH Intl. Certified Equine Specialist
PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Trauma Focused EAP/Natural Lifemanship/Rhythmic Riding

Parelli Natural Horsemanship Level 2 graduate

   HOPE Animal Assisted Crisis Response Canine/Handler team

Clinical Interests: Clients ages 16 & up, anxiety/depression, disordered eating/body image concerns, college student transitions, healthcare + veterinary professional support, perinatal concerns and parenting

Click HERE to schedule an initial consultation with Kristen

Kristen became involved with animal assisted therapy over twenty years ago, starting with therapy dog visitation and teaching therapeutic riding to adults with traumatic brain injuries. However, the world of equine therapy as a mental health intervention compelled her to create and grow Triple Play Farm. Motivated by the fact that what a horse offers in relationship can be healing in all areas of life, Kris now maintains a herd of six horses and a premier facility offering equine-facilitated psychotherapy and learning.

Kristen has seen firsthand that EFP/L create shifts for clients that have felt “stuck” in more traditional therapy. Her goal is to offer a peaceful, private environment where clients can work on goals with a supportive team and a group of animals that will always offer the unvarnished truth. Her favorite part of her job is watching clients achieve things that they didn’t imagine possible, and working with a team of colleagues who are smart, compassionate and dedicated to both the farm and the industry.

A Favorite TPF Client Story:
“One of my favorite moments was with a client who had been struggling with severe anxiety. She was very nervous about working with the horses, and as she entered the round pen, the horse plopped down in the sand and curled up like a cat. As we talked about the fact that prey animals don’t lie down unless they feel absolutely secure, she realized that the horse saw her as a safe place and opened her heart to him a bit. She said that she had never realized that, ‘vulnerability can be a positive thing.’”

Chris Nealy, MSW, LCSW

BA Sociology – UNC-Chapel Hill

MSW – UNC-Chapel Hill

Clinical interests: Individuals and families affected by Autism, ADD/ADHD, anxiety, and behavioral management challenges. He also conducts Social Theatre groups for children and teens with Autism to work on communication, social skills, creativity, flexibility, and more.

NOTE: At this time, Chris is not seeing individual clients at the farm.

Chris began working in the autism community in 2003 by providing direct support to individuals affected by ASD. He has served in a variety of roles including in-home support, case management, services coordination, clinical diagnostics and intervention, and public training. Chris earned his Master of Social Work at UNC-Chapel Hill, where his studies focused on working with families affected by ASD, and included internships at Wake County Preschool Services and Division TEACCH. 

Chris was introduced to the world of EFP shortly after beginning his clinical career by observing his first EFP session and participating with an EFL group, both at TPF. Now by spending more time in the pasture than he does in the office, Chris brings a wonderfully collaborative and creative approach to therapy at the farm. His favorite part of his job is having the opportunity to “work” outside of an office with the horses and wonderful co-workers; he feels as though practicing EFP has led him to be a more mindful husband, father, friend and clinician.

A Favorite TPF Client Story:
“A client was struggling with confidence in his decisions and experiencing constant frustration. After several sessions of trying unsuccessfully to get his selected horse to follow him in the round pen, he finally let himself accept the difficulty of the moment by expressing sadness instead of anger, and lowering his body and energy to the ground. Within minutes of his release of so much emotional and physical tension, his horse approached him and nuzzled his face. The client recognized he could not force the horse to trust him; that he needed to trust himself before others would give him a chance.”

Equine & Animal Specialists

Tracy Byrnes - Program Director

Fairleigh Dickinson University

PATH Intl. Equine Specialist
PATH Intl. Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Trauma Focused EAP/Natural Lifemanship/Rythmic Riding
CPR/First Aid
Mental Health First Aid

A New Jersey native, Tracy grew up riding and caring for her own horses. Years after moving to Charlotte, Tracy began volunteering with a therapeutic riding program in 2005, and earned her PATH Intl. Instructor certification in the Spring of 2007. After spending 8 years on the therapeutic riding side of the equine therapy industry, Tracy was ready to expand her knowledge and experience toward mental health interventions.

Tracy believes in the effectiveness of EFP/L because she feels the environment allows individuals to open up in a unique way, and the horse’s softness (and sometimes toughness) encourages all ages to be their genuine selves. Her favorite part of her job is observing a client’s connection with their chosen horse as it develops over time.

A Favorite TPF Client Story:
“During an activity involving a mother and son when the son’s chosen horse gave him the courage to open up and talk to his mom to express his “real” feelings. If that horse could talk, I felt that the words to that young man were ‘you can say what you are thinking’. I am pretty sure that young man heard those words that day.”

Aliza McIlwain

BA Psychology-Appalachian State University

PATH Intl. Equine Specialist

PATH Intl. Therapeutic Riding Instructor

CPR/First Aid

As a little girl growing up in Winston-Salem, Aliza caught the “horse bug” and spent many of her formative years at the barn. While she loved riding, she was (and still is) perfectly content feeding the horses, scooping manure, and enjoying the peace of the farm. After graduating college, she taught therapeutic riding for ten years and cherished the opportunity to work and learn alongside individuals with disabilities. Aliza also taught unmounted horsemanship skills to at-risk youth and fell in love with EFP after working with a group of children in foster care. She firmly believes in the effectiveness of EFP/L because there is so much to learn from horses, such as setting healthy boundaries and living more authentically. Her favorite part of her job is witnessing each herd member's unique talents and personality traits in action, as well as watching the relationship between horses and clients bloom.

Morgan Ridenhour

BS Psychology; BA English Literature-College of Charleston;
MA Clinical/Community Psychology-UNC-Charlotte

PATH Intl. Equine Specialist
CPR/First Aid
Mental Health First Aid Instructor

Morgan has a true gift with the horses and strikes a beautiful balance of rapport and respect with them. She loves teaching adolescent clients round pen technique and taking Moose Tracks for long drives around the farm. She is trained in equine massage and is also the artist behind the wonderful stall mural in the Triple Play barn.

Morgan stands behind the effectiveness of EFP/L because she feels as though individuals are more engaged and more willing to be vulnerable; more excited about coming to sessions, and more quickly able to achieve the changes they’re hoping for than in a traditional office setting. Her favorite part of her job is the relaxed, friendly environment, and working with both the two-, three- and four-legged staff.