Cheryl Meola - Co Chair Education Committee

Cheryl Meola, PhD, LCMHCS is the founder of Mane Source Counseling, a nature-based psychotherapy practice in Greenville, NC, and an Assistant Professor in the Counselor Education program at East Carolina University. She is a PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI) and Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning (ESMHL). Cheryl’s research focuses on equine-assisted services (EAS) with diverse populations, including adolescents in residential treatment, veterans, and counseling students. She serves as Co-Chair of the Education Committee for the Horses and Humans Research Foundation and is passionate about making research more accessible, ethical, and relevant for practitioners. She is the author of Integrating Horses into Healing, as well as multiple peer-reviewed publications, and is currently working on a follow-up book exploring values-based decision-making in EAS. Her lifelong love of horses began on her aunt’s farm and continues today through her work with a dedicated herd who are central to both her clinical and academic work.