Robyn's journey from Euroa sergeant to equine-assisted psychotherapist

IT is still not easy for Robyn Reed to talk about the incident that ended her 30-year career with Victoria Police. The former Euroa Police sergeant, who officially retired on Monday, was attacked by a cow running loose on the Hume Freeway on Christmas Day in 2022. The injuries she suffered left her unable to work as a police officer again. “The mental health decline that I suffered through that period, not being able to go to work, not being able to lift the phone receiver, not being able to type on a computer, not being able to pick up a cup of coffee and feed myself, was significant,” Ms Reed said. She later developed post-traumatic stress disorder. But the Violet Towner’s drive to understand her own mental health struggle, and to again find purpose and serve the community, has seen her reinvent herself, retraining to take up work as an equine-assisted psychotherapist. Ms Reed is especially interested in helping emergency services workers suffering from trauma and other mental health challenges. “I've lived and breathed and worked in the [emergency services] environment for a very, very long time,” she said. “And it's not until now, when I've stepped out of the cycle, that you realise the coping mechanisms sometimes have cracks developing quite early in one's career. “It's important to have the courage and the right support to be able to work through them more effectively, so we can help people prevent the onset of PTSD, rather than trying to pick up the pieces when they're completely broken.” THE INJURY AND ITS AFTERMATH Ms Reed was working alone at a short-staffed Euroa Police Station on December 25, 2022, when she was called to a cow on the Hume Freeway, near Avenel, on the centre median strip just after midday. “I had to get some back-up from Seymour, and we tried to move the cow and it jumped up and charged at me, knocked me over and hit me very hard,” she said. All the ligaments in her shoulder were torn, she suffered a concussion and her coccyx was fractured. But Ms Reed continued to “plow through”. She euthanised the animal with a .22 Magnum rifle brought up from Seymour, then drove back to Euroa. Later that day she was admitted to hospital at Euroa Health, where she was transferred to Shepparton. “I shouldn't have driven on my own,” she said. “I should have been seen to at the scene, in hindsight. “It's a little bit foggy and confusing, what occurred then, but I can only put it down to the adrenaline pumping through the body and the mentality of ‘stay strong, keep going’.” Despite undergoing surgeries, Ms Reed said she no longer has the range of movement, strength and function in her arm to return to police duties. Before retiring on Monday, she was on extended sick leave. “Being the always fiercely independent, emotionally in control, very astute, goal-focused individual that I am, not to be able to do things myself and asking for help was profoundly debilitating for me,” she said. But she did seek help, and that experience encouraged her to commence a diploma in counselling, which she recently completed. “It was through that journey of understanding mental health, and the results of anxiety, depression, PTSD, that I really became more self-aware of what I was going through,” Ms Reed said. “And that led to me being able to not feel like I was a freak, that I was unstable; that it was a normal physical, mental, emotional reaction to a whole series of incidents, traumas and work that I did. “There's a stigma still attached to talking about mental health. “We can easily talk about a broken shoulder and a broken elbow, a concussion, but when we talk about the way we emotionally respond to these things, there's still a big stigma around being able to have a conversation about it.” HEALING WITH HORSES Over the past 35 years, Ms Reed has owned, bred and trained horses, and has participated in amateur-level dressage competitions. Her passion for horses led her to Mansfield early in her career with Victoria Police, where she enjoyed high country horse-riding and stayed for 22 years. She was promoted to sergeant in Benalla in 2018, and in 2020 she purchased her 45-acre rural home in Violet Town, where she owns six horses. She was appointed to Euroa as sergeant in 2022. “It was my affinity with horses and the way that horses have been a very therapeutic part of my life, that led me to undergo specialised training in equine-assisted psychotherapy,” she said. Ms Reed described the practice as more “experiential” than traditional therapy. “Rather than sitting in a room talking about something, you can use [horses] as support to experience it in a safe way,” she said. “That whole holistic approach to mental health has really paved the way for me to start healing myself. “And it was through that, that I felt I could continue my work with the community that I've served for 30 years, but I could do that in another way and help people who have been through trauma.” In equine-assisted psychotherapy, the therapist and patient work together with horses, which act as a “mirror”, responding to and reflecting the patient’s body language, Ms Reed explained. While the former sergeant expects to focus on supporting emergency services workers, she said the therapy is helpful for anyone experiencing mental health difficulties, and welcomes patients from all walks of life. More about her new business, Horsetalk, can be found at www.horsetalk.au.

Robyn's journey from Euroa sergeant to equine-assisted psychotherapist

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