Chantilly Park Learning and Wellness Centre

Chantilly Park Learning and Wellness Centre Through being with horses and nature we provide a safe place for people of all ages to explore mental health therapeutic support outside of a clinic room.

We provide a client centred approach by bringing a number of therapeutic elements together. Julie founded Chantilly Park Learning and Wellness Centre after training in Psychotherapy and discovering the therapeutic power of working with horses to address her own trauma and grief. Formerly a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute for 22 years, Julie decided to uti

lize her skills in building rapport and creating safe spaces in a new, unique setting. She is a Clinical Soul-Centred Psychotherapist (registered with PACFA & ASCP) and one of the first in Australia to earn the internationally recognized Certification of Equine Interaction Practitioner in Mental Health. Julie is supported by a herd of 10 horses, a team of chickens, a barn cat named Sooty, and Mo, a lap dog. The human team includes Courtney and Laura, who bring extensive experience in Family Services and other complementary training. The team have completed training with:
• Certification Board for Equine Interaction Professionals™
• Centre of Equine Experiential Learning
• Australian Equine Facilitated Learning
• Psychodynamic Equine Assisted Trauma Therapy

Chantilly Park offers a safe space to help clients work through:
• Anxiety
• Stress and overwhelm
• Lack of confidence
• Depression
• Negative behaviors and beliefs
• Trauma
• Body symptoms
• Core issues
• General feelings of unease

Group programs are available for:
• School Holidays
• Anxiety and overwhelm
• Transition from primary to high school
• Reconnecting with oneself

Happy anniversary to these gorgeous blonde bombshells - Bella and Haily 😘😘11yrs ago we made the trek to Loch to pick the...
02/05/2026

Happy anniversary to these gorgeous blonde bombshells - Bella and Haily 😘😘

11yrs ago we made the trek to Loch to pick the girls up.

I could never have imagined the journey these girls would take me on. They were part of the dream for Chantilly Park and now are a HUGE part of it.

They create boundaries, connection, joy and many have come to enjoy the Haily Hugs.

I am so blessed these girls chose me to come home too and so VERY blessed we now have the baby sister, Nelly in the mix too.

Grateful they love their work just as much as I do 🥰🥰🥰

🌟love what you do;do what you love🌟

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❤️

This has certainly been the case for me 🥰One of my dearest friends I bonded with over a coffee and horse chat over 20yrs...
30/04/2026

This has certainly been the case for me 🥰

One of my dearest friends I bonded with over a coffee and horse chat over 20yrs ago, after I was asked to “just try to get a long with her” 🤣🤣🤣

Since then and especially in the last 12yrs since stepping into this field I have meet and become close friends for many more 🥰🥰🥰🥰

People often ask🐴🌻 What can I get from Equine Assisted Therapy? 🌻🐴There are so many answers to this, but I will share ju...
27/04/2026

People often ask🐴🌻 What can I get from Equine Assisted Therapy? 🌻🐴

There are so many answers to this, but I will share just a few.

🐴 The moments of CONNECTION. As humans we seek connection with other. Some people struggle to experience this with other people but they can BEGIN to experience this with the horses.

🤗 JOY the connection people experience be it a kid or adult.

🍁 The CONFIDENCE people experience when being able to be comfortable to be around a large sentient being. Allowing them close enough to feel their warm breath on your skin can often be a highlight for clients.

☘️ The REGULATION of the mind body system. Our nervous system is the major controlling, regulatory, and communicating system in the body. Being around the horses helps people experience what it’s like to be in a calm state; often described by clients as a “quiet happiness” 🥰

There are so many other benefits I could list but for today I would love to hear your thoughts.

If you (or a loved one) have experienced Equine Assisted Therapy share what do you love about it? 🐴🐴
*photo shared with permission*

🌟love what you do;do what you love🌟

I absolutely ONLY have one coffee a day 🤣🤣🤣🤣How many do you need 😜🌟love what you drink;drink what you love🌟
26/04/2026

I absolutely ONLY have one coffee a day 🤣🤣🤣🤣

How many do you need 😜

🌟love what you drink;drink what you love🌟

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going dow...
25/04/2026

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Lest we forget 🌺

#

🌹

How times change….7yrs ago an average day consisted of an alarm at 4:45am. Getting up, soaking horse food for my folks t...
24/04/2026

How times change….

7yrs ago an average day consisted of an alarm at 4:45am. Getting up, soaking horse food for my folks to feed, making coffee then leaving by 5:30am (at the latest) to do the 1.5hrs trek to The Royal Children’s.

I would grab a coffee on arrival and head to my computer on the 5th floor to a mountain of emails and another deadline to meet.

10am would be coffee with my coffee crew then back to desk to continue the computer work juggling patient visits, ethics submissions, contracts & budgets and some argument with a company about something or other!

Usually lunch at desk and rush off by 2:45/3pm for the trek home. If I was lucky it would be a 1.5hr trip but some days it was over 2hrs sometimes 3hrs 😵‍💫.

Upon getting home it was soaking horse feed as soon as I walked in, get changed and out to paddock to feed and do chores.

Then it was feeding the family and getting mum sorted for bed. I would then be hoping in to bed around 10:30 to do it all again 😳

Now….my day begins around 7am after who knows what kind of sleep from my toddler, juggling breakfasts for the 2 & 4 leggered and then out to clients for of 4 x 1:1 sessions.

I can’t believe the change in stress levels and my overall health in comparison to the commute & officework!

Don’t get me wrong it’s SUPER hard & stressful in other ways (reports, chasing invoices & juggling a business with a toddler) BUT having amazing feedback warms my heart 💜

It’s been such a long road to get here. I can’t wait to see what the next 5yrs brings.

I couldn’t do this without the support of the INCREDIBLE team here nor my family.

🌟love what you do;do what you love🌟

“You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens”~ Mandy Hale ~AND ...
23/04/2026

“You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens”
~ Mandy Hale ~

AND spend time with a pony ❤️❤️❤️

🌟love what you do;do what you love🌟

🌟

I recently read how "Most people remember 20% of what they hear, 50% of what they see, and 80% of what they do." (Grass,...
21/04/2026

I recently read how "Most people remember 20% of what they hear, 50% of what they see, and 80% of what they do." (Grass, Adventure Therapy: Therapeutic Application of Adventure Programming).

Have to agree that I certainly learn best by doing.

By “doing” in a challenging and engaging environment which uses creative thinking, communication, life skills and problem solving often the clients have better outcomes.

Equine-experiential programs help clients to "think outside the box".

The horses provide immediate and visible feedback; they are non-judgmental and model the significance of non-verbal communication. Clients come back to the world of nature, the basics of healthy relationships and experience appropriate and natural consequences, which the whole of the client. . .mind, body and soul are participating 🐴💗

Reach out in your ready to explore therapy in an experiential way 🌿🐴

🌟love what you do;do what you love🌟

🌿

One needs this when there is a toddler in the house 🫣😵‍💫
19/04/2026

One needs this when there is a toddler in the house 🫣😵‍💫

What kind of things can you expect from a session here at Chantilly Park?🐴 Connection ☘️ Interaction🐴 Moments of quiet h...
19/04/2026

What kind of things can you expect from a session here at Chantilly Park?

🐴 Connection
☘️ Interaction
🐴 Moments of quiet happiness
☘️ Building Confidence
🐴 Tools to support anxiety & overwhelm!

These are just a few of the things that we provide clients ☺️

We have some weekday availability - comment “INFO” below 🐴😃

🌟love what you do;do what you love🌟

Therapy comes in all shapes and sizes 🐴💜In our sessions our clients choose who they want to work with. In the first sess...
16/04/2026

Therapy comes in all shapes and sizes 🐴💜

In our sessions our clients choose who they want to work with.

In the first session we greet all the horses big and small.

We start with the small ones to practice
our approach where we focus on the little cues that are easier to learn with the smaller horses. This allows clients to build confidence and respect for horses from the beginning and introduces some safety elements.

Sometimes the horses choose who they want to work with. Sometimes the clients are attracted to a certain horse. More often than not it’s a mutual connection.

We always encourage clients to come with curiosity about who they may meet as we have some very different horses BIG and SMALL 🐴💜


Not everyone finds it easy to sit in a room and talk!If traditional therapy hasn’t felt like the right fit, you’re not a...
16/04/2026

Not everyone finds it easy to sit in a room and talk!

If traditional therapy hasn’t felt like the right fit, you’re not alone.

Working alongside horses offers a different pathway—one that is:
🐴 Experiential, not just conversational
🌿 Grounded in the present moment
💛 Led by your pace, not pressure

There’s no expectation to “perform” or have it all figured out.

Just space to be… and gently rebuild from there.

📩 Reach out if you’re curious about trying something different.


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Address

Settlement Road
Yarra Junction, VIC
3797

Opening Hours

Monday 3pm - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 12:30pm
Thursday 3pm - 5pm
Friday 10:30am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

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