In addition to Isabelle and Jean-Jacques, Twin Oaks Farm is honored to welcome other co-facilitators with a unique expertise in mindfulness-based stress reduction, authentic communication, conflict transformation, dance, or yoga. Please take a look at our calendar for more details.
Isabelle Joris, PT
Isabelle Joris is a licensed physical therapist in Switzerland. In addition to a four-year training in energy healing, Isabelle has completed the Somatic Experiencing curriculum and is a certified practitioner of equine-facilitated growth and learning. A great friend of horses since her early childhood, Isabelle has been exploring the magic and joy of inter-species communication with the 12 horses (and alpacas, llamas, and goats) that she lives with. A native French speaker, Isabelle speaks fluent English, Spanish, and German. She lived in Europe, South America, and the Middle East, and practiced as a PT and energy therapist in many different cultural and linguistic environments, working with torture and sexual abuse survivors.
Jean-Jacques Joris, JD, MA
A native of Geneva and a Law graduate, Jean-Jacques spent 15 years in the Swiss foreign service. Throughout his international career, Jean-Jacques traveled, worked, and lived in conflict areas, confronted with acute human suffering and witnessing the power of human resiliency. Fluent in five languages, Jean-Jacques is passionate about building bridges among people of different cultural, political and religious backgrounds. Wishing to shift his focus from the political to the individual realm, Jean-Jacques graduated from Naropa University with an MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychotherapy. A horse lover since his childhood, Jean-Jacques is now bringing together his passion for human nature, horses, inter-species communication, and offers equine-facilitated psychotherapy services to children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families, with a holistic and non-denominational perspective. Jean-Jacques is also an EMDR practitioner and a certified EAGALA (Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association) mental health specialist.
The Horses
The horses displayed below are Twin Oaks Farm’s therapists. Although humans give names to their horses, horses’ true names, those they give one another, remain mysterious. Nameless or not, each horse has a different appearance, temperament, and personality. As you interact with them, they will present you with uncanny metaphors and mirroring of your inner and social life. We invite you to give them the names that resonate for you in the present moment.
The horses at Twin Oaks Farm are the co-facilitators of psychotherapy, learning experiences, retreats, workshops, and summer camps. They are respected as sentient beings, and never used as tools. They are our colleagues, friends, and patient teachers.
