Mental Health Counseling Services
At Shining Hope Farms, we provide comprehensive mental health counseling designed to support children, adults, and families through life’s challenges. While we welcome anyone seeking standalone mental health support, we offer a unique advantage for pediatric patients who also receive our Occupational, Physical, or Speech therapy services. For these families, our multidisciplinary team seamlessly collaborates to treat the whole child, ensuring our therapies complement one another for the best possible outcomes.
Healing and growth look different for everyone, which is why our sessions take place across our beautiful, natural farm environment. Depending on your goals, therapy may happen in our comforting indoor barn rooms, out in the arena, or through purposeful equine interaction incorporated into select sessions as part of a tailored treatment strategy. Wherever you or your child are on your wellness journey, we are here to provide innovative, collaborative care in a space where you can truly thrive.
As a nonprofit organization, our mission is to ensure these unique, life-changing therapies are accessible to everyone in our community. To make care affordable, our licensed mental health professionals are in-network with most major private insurance companies, as well as Medicaid and regional managed care organizations (including Partners, Alliance Health, and Vaya).
Compassionate, Licensed Clinical Care
Shining Hope Farms offers mental health services led by licensed clinicians, including LCSWA/LCSWs and LCMHC/LCMHCAs. We provide services to children, adolescents, and adults (ages 4 and up). We offer individualized treatment for a wide range of needs, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, neurodivergence, trauma, PTSD, behavioral concerns, and challenges with emotional regulation. Every session is grounded in evidence‑based practice and tailored to the client’s goals, strengths, and developmental stage.
A Nature‑Based Approach to Healing
Unlike traditional office‑based therapy, our services take place in a peaceful, outdoor environment that naturally supports grounding, mindfulness, and emotional connection. Many clients find that being in nature helps reduce stress, increase openness, and enhance the therapeutic process. Our clinicians integrate the natural setting into sessions in ways that feel comfortable and meaningful for each individual.
Experiential Healing with Horses
When desired and when staff availability allows, clients may also spend time with one of our therapy horses as part of their session. These interactions are guided by a licensed mental health professional and are designed to support insight, confidence, emotional awareness, and regulation. Horses are highly attuned animals whose body language and responses offer immediate, authentic feedback, helping clients practice presence, boundaries, and connection in a unique way. While these experiences are therapeutic, they are not considered formal Equine‑Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP); rather, they are one of several experiential tools our clinicians may incorporate.
During sessions involving the equine, the patient and therapist are accompanied by an Equine Specialist (ES). The ES ensures the safety and well-being of the equine as well as partners with the patient and therapist to help the patient meet their therapeutic goals.
Who We Serve
We welcome:
- Children ages 4+
- Teens and young adults
- Adults of all ages
- Individuals, families, and caregivers
Our clinicians are experienced in supporting neurodivergent clients, clients with complex trauma histories, and those who benefit from movement‑based or experiential approaches.
Why Clients Choose Shining Hope Farms
Families and individuals choose our program because it offers:
- A licensed clinical team
- Services are billable to insurance
- A calming, nature‑based setting
- Equine interactions integrated with evidence‑based therapeutic approaches
- Opportunities for experiential learning and emotional growth
- A holistic, strengths‑based approach that honors each client’s pace and needs
Shining Hope Farms is a place where clients can breathe, connect, and grow — supported by skilled clinicians and a healing environment unlike any other.
Care for the Caregiver
At Shining Hope Farms, we recognize that caregivers often spend so much time supporting their children, especially those with special needs, that their own emotional wellbeing can easily fall to the bottom of the list. Our Care for the Caregiver offering was created with those parents in mind. While your child is already on the farm for services, you have the option to schedule your own mental health session with one of our licensed clinicians. It’s a convenient, compassionate way to prioritize yourself without adding another appointment to your already full week.
Mental Health Therapists
Alexis Sabul
Mental Health Therapy Lead - LCSWA, CCM
Alexis serves as the Mental Health Lead at Shining Hope Farms. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate (LCSWA) and a Certified Case Manager (CCM) who earned her Master of Social Work from Long Island University Post. Alexis brings a wealth of expertise to our team, with 11 years of dedicated experience as a social worker and case manager, including specialized clinical social work. Before joining the farm, she served as a Behavioral Health Care Manager for the Union County Public Health Department.
Alexis specializes in supporting children navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, and PTSD. She has advanced training through the REACH Institute’s Patient Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) program, making her uniquely equipped to provide comprehensive, evidence-based care for youth.
Alexis uses a deeply collaborative, trauma-informed lens to empower young clients and help them build lifelong resilience. Her clinical skillset includes:
- Behavioral Activation & Management Training
- Exposure Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Suicide Prevention
- Youth & Adult Mental Health First Aid
Fun facts? Alexis is a woman of many talents! She is a published poet whose work has featured in an online literary magazine. She also has a background in cheerleading, which took her all the way to performing in the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2019!
Stephanie Weber
LMHCA
Stephanie earned her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She brings a rich background of clinical experience to Shining Hope Farms, having previously worked across diverse therapeutic settings—including Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP), Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP), community mental health centers, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and private practice. She also has a love of nature and horses.
Stephanie specializes in working with children, adolescents, and young adults, with a specific focus on those navigating comorbid anxiety, depression, and substance use. She also enjoys working with athletes.
Stephanie utilizes a compassionate, person-centered approach to therapy. Recognizing that every individual is unique, she dynamically tailors her sessions by incorporating evidence-based practices, including:
- CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
- DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy)
- ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
- Mindfulness techniques
Fun fact? Stephanie was born and raised in England.
Does Shining Hope Farms offer Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)?
No. Shining Hope Farms offers mental health counseling that includes equine interactions. When horses are part of psychotherapy or mental health counseling, the mental health practitioner incorporates elements from interactions with horses and the environment into their existing clinical approach as a way to enhance the therapeutic process.
What Makes Horse Interactions Therapeutic?
Horses are incredibly perceptive animals, and that sensitivity is part of what makes time with them so meaningful in a therapeutic setting. They naturally pick up on human emotions through our body language, energy, and even subtle physiological changes. Because of this, a horse often responds differently depending on how calm, anxious, confident, or unsure a person feels in the moment.
In many ways, the horse becomes a gentle mirror — offering real‑time feedback that helps clients notice their own emotional shifts. For example, a horse may act one way when a client arrives feeling tense, and then respond more softly once the client begins to relax. These changes create powerful opportunities for insight, skill‑building, and emotional awareness, all guided by a licensed clinician.
Licensed Therapists & Specialized Staff
Mental health counseling sessions are led by a licensed mental health professional. Each session utilizing equine interactions also consists of a carefully trained Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning (ESMHL).
Our Horses
Each therapy horse used in the program has been evaluated and chosen for his movement quality, temperament, and training.
Doctors' RX Required
Each patient must have a doctor’s prescription for therapy which is facilitated by our admin team. When paperwork is received, the therapist conducts a thorough initial assessment of each patient and formulates goals. Progress updates are conducted every six months to evaluate patient progress.
Insurance Accepted
We are in network with NC Medicaid, SC Medicaid (including Medicaid managed care plans), as well as most of the major insurance companies in order to provide therapy services at our facilities, which include on site therapy clinics. Clients are responsible for their co pays and deductibles at the time of service.
ESA+ Provider
Shining Hope Farms is an enrolled provider for the ESA+ scholarship and is approved to accept ESA+ scholarship funds. North Carolina’s Education Student Accounts (ESA+) scholarship provides funds for North Carolina families that can be used to pay for education and other support services for children with disabilities. Expenses are subject to review and approval by SEAA.
Mental Health Emergencies
IMPORTANT: If you are in a mental health emergency please call 911, go to the nearest emergency room or call the Partners Behavioral Health Crisis Line at 833-353-2093.