Animal Assisted Therapy
Ranked #17,285 in Healthy Living, #262,309 overall
How Animals Can Help Us Heal
Rehabilitative therapy often resorts to exposing patients of trauma, or victims of severe mental strain to aspects of the natural world that are comforting, soothing to spend time around, and often require appropriate care, which can serve as a useful distraction from the events of the past, as well as from ailments that they may currently be struggling with in their lives. By having something that requires focused attention on a daily basis, victims of psychological disorders such as depression have something to help drive them to live life to the fullest on a day-to-day basis. For the purposes of individual therapy treatments, domesticated animals can often fulfill this purpose quite effectively. It''s been said before that owning a dog or a cat can help to prolong the owner''s life by decreasing stress, and indirectly helping to regulate their blood pressure.
Animal Assisted Therapy builds on this basic principle, and is often prescribed in situations where it has been determined that the state of a person''s health is a direct result of the level of stress in their life. The history of using the presence of friendly, familiar animals specifically for purposes of therapy dates back to the second World War. Handlers would bring mascot dogs into infirmaries, or other places where wounded and destitute victims of war were having to spend a lot of time. The general idea is that by letting victims of tragedy interact with the animals, and giving them an opportunity to watch his shenanigans, it can help to cheer them up, and help them to let the misfortunes of the past go. Medical professionals who were on staff at the time soon caught on to the positive psychological effects that animal exposure was having on the patients, and began to experiment with broadening these types of programs.
Contents at a Glance
This type of therapy has been adapted to help medical professionals treat people with a wide range of difficulties that haven''t necessarily originated from traumatic events. People who, either by neurological disorder or social ineptitude, have a tendency to shy away from people, and stay off to themselves in a way that''s deemed unhealthy can sometimes be more easily prompted to rejoin society by interaction with animals than by interaction with other people.
The animal, usually a cat or dog, helps to give them purpose and motivation for venturing out into the world, which can help them to feel more comfortable being around other people with similar interests to their own; for example, the animals themselves. Even if other people aren''t involved whatsoever, animal assisted therapy can help to ward off crushing feelings of solitude that some people feel when they absolutely feel like they have no one at all to relate to about their problems. A dog, if properly cared for, will give unconditional love to its owner for its entire life. From a therapeutic standpoint, that kind of positive exposure can be remarkably inspirational.
Books On Animal Assisted Therapy
News
- Therapy Dog volunteers needed in Marshall County
- (The Mississippi Press/File photo) RSVP's current dog therapy volunteers are filling a tremendous need, but with the number of care facilities increasing in Marshall County, more dog/handler teams are needed. Animal assisted therapy (or pet therapy) ...
- Is canine therapy for the dogs?
- As a result, after many conversations and planning efforts, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's Radiation Oncology Department introduced an animal-assisted therapy program last January. We now have three canine ?therapy specialists?: Sparky, a beagle; ...
- SAN BERNARDINO: Pet Loss Classes set
- Both doctors are licensed clinical psychologists who also specialize in providing animal-assisted therapy to the patients they serve in their private practice in Redlands, Future Generations ? Diagnostic, Treatment and Evaluation Center.
- MCC, Light Center to teach animal therapy
- By NORTHWEST HERALD CRYSTAL LAKE ? McHenry County College has partnered with the Light Center to offer a two-day animal-assisted therapy and learning course June 14 and 15. The course will be 9 am to 3 pm both days at the Light Center's adapted barn, ...
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Paws With A Purpose: People and Animals That Care
Paws With A Purpose is an informative documentary more...2 points
Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy, Third Edition: Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice
In the 10 years since the first edition of Handbook more...0 points
Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy: Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice by Aubrey H. Fine
In the 10 years since the first edition of Handbook more...0 points
101 Creative Ideas for Animal Assisted Therapy by Stacy Grover
This book is packed with 190 pages of step-by-ste more...0 points
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BLemley
Feb 26, 2012 @ 12:34 am | delete
- Great info on the mental and neurological help that therapy animals can give ~ Thumbs up! B : )
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Tipi
Jan 2, 2012 @ 4:40 pm | delete
- I totally agree, animal therapy works and does seem to be one of God's special wonders....we have so much to learn and the animals are teaching us that they are out therapists.
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favored1
Dec 22, 2011 @ 6:58 pm | delete
- I have been a witness to how animal therapy works. It's one of God's special wonders.
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Showpup
Oct 31, 2011 @ 9:54 am | delete
- I've seen animal assisted therapy work wonders. I have several friends who work in this field.
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ChrissLJ Jun 19, 2011 @ 7:56 pm | delete
- I know for a fact that therapy animals work. When my mother was an activities director at a nursing home, I used to bring my cat in for residents to pet and cuddle. Residents that normally wouldn't talk or be social would go out of their way to get lap time with my cat and tell all kinds of stories from yester years. A few years ago, I started the process to have my oldest dog therapy certified. She's gone into the local VA hospital, several nursing homes, schools, etc, and it's always amazing the response she and her other therapy trained friends elicit. My local public library also has a reading to rover program where reluctant and emergent readers can read to therapy trained dogs. I've personally witness children who stutter and struggle over even the simplest of words to gain confidence when they know the dogs are there to listen to them without judging. So, yes, therapy animals work. =0)
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Animal Assisted Therapy
Animal assisted therapy: A guide for health care professionals and volunteers
Amazon Price: $27.00 (as of 05/28/2012)
A guide for health care professionals and volunteers.
Dog Tote Bag
DOGS LEAVE PAW PRINTS ON YOUR HEART Totebag (Cotton Tote / Bag)
Amazon Price: $17.99 (as of 05/28/2012)
This is a fun way to express your opinion while keeping the environment safe. The design is printed on the front of the bag in vibrant colors and is washable.
