Dog Therapy Enhances Good Mental Health For Adults

Just like teenagers, adults aging from 30 to 60 years old, also experience mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Mental health problems in adults may not be as prevalent like that of the teenager’s, but we should still not neglect it.

According to Marla W. Deibler, PsyD, “When we think a stressor is too great for us to manage, we feel overwhelmed,” Job unemployment, company issues, and family problems are among the life stressors that can affect an adult’s mental well-being. These stressors may lead to loneliness, loss of dignity and emotional distress which can later induce bad mental health condition like dementia and depression. So, finding ways to look after your overall health can help you feel better and avoid the triggers of disorders.

Aside from having an active lifestyle, undergoing dog therapy is one of the many ways to help you towards having good mental health along with eating right and getting enough rest.

Source: pixabay.com

What Is Dog Therapy?

Dog therapy is a type of alternative healing program not just for teenagers but also for adults experiencing mental health problems. It aims to provide pet involvement as a form of treatment administered by several health professionals. Dog therapy is the most convenient because therapy dogs are man’s best friend.

A dog has great potential in increasing social connection because they are less threatening compared to other medical treatments.  Hence, interacting with a friendly dog enhances adult’s social and emotional performance. Experts believe that they can lower stress level and can provide peace of mind to adult patients. For example, by simply stroking its fur would give you a feeling of easiness and calmness. Walking with your dog in the park would also relieve your worries. In essence, it protects adults from harnessing loneliness in life and fear of several things like death. Andrea Bonior, PhD, clinical psychologist explains that “Whether you suffer from seasonal affective disorder or not, the evidence is strong that getting outside just for a little bit can be very helpful.”

Dog therapy is also associated with other types of animal therapy like cats, horses, smallies, and birds to facilitate emotional well-being.

Source: flickr.com

The Power Of Dog Therapy

The relationship between animals and humans are as powerful as our relationship with our friends or family. If you feel like no one is with you, therapy dogs will never leave you alone. Engaging with therapeutic dogs may provide adults the support and comfort they needed as they walk through the journey of life.

Dogs offer companionship during the times of success and downfalls. They can be a huge source of motivation and encouragement to adults experiencing anxieties. They will teach you how to empathize and bring back the interpersonal skills you have lost because of your problems.

Besides that, if you feel like you don’t have a purpose in life; your dog would give you one by taking care of him. Dogs can be someone whom you can share a routine with. Dogs will give you the taste of fulfillment and build friendship you always hope for during your lonely years.

Source: dod.defend.gov

So, for adults who feel that they are at the edge of having bad mental health, seek help and own a therapeutic dog. If you are not confident about getting a medically prescribe remedies, they will help you directly in a good mental health environment. Dogs will give you the energy to deal with your stressors and overcome your anxieties.”Happy people do things differently. They make their emotional wellbeing a priority and practice daily and weekly habits that help them create joy, happiness and satisfaction in their lives,” says Dr. Chantal Gagnon Ph.D. LMHC.

Overcome Monetary Stress Through Financial Counseling

Have you ever been so down because of your budgeting problems? How did you deal with such? Have you considered an appointment for financial counseling to ease money-related stress?

What is financial counseling, and how does it work?

Take Control Of Your Monetary Issues

In one study, it was revealed that monetary issues could be the leading cause of stress among Americans, more so among millennials. Worse, there are countless numbers of people who need financial advisors year after year. Financial health counseling has become crucial these days in understanding credit reports.

The monetary support has proven itself useful in helping clients, people, and even in an association. A good credit score is also often discussed as part of these financial conversations to provide comprehensive advice.

Financial Counseling

This leads one to achieve financial stability. In one finance study, financial counseling services have helped people reduce their financial debt levels, save up finances for their retirement, and secure financial investments. Effective debt management is often a topic in these sessions. Is financial counseling beneficial? How do the treatment’s client information services work and support people?

Below are some free certified financial planner ideas and tips. If you want financial goals of stability, you might as well learn some of these financial counseling tips on debt management plans without spending too much on monthly payments. You may also inquire about credit counseling services for specialized advice.

A Financial Advisor Can Help You

A financial advisor can help you create a budget, choose the right repayment plan for your student loans, and manage money effectively, making saving money a priority. Financial counselors also provide guidance on how to manage credit card debts and other balances. If you’re dealing with multiple credit cards, a financial advisor can help you consolidate them into a more manageable plan. There are existing associations and websites where you can consolidate your debts into one monthly payment, a strategy that can help you avoid future bankruptcy.

Open Up With Your Real Emotions T0 Encourage Beneficial Therapeutic Treatment

The starting point for every financial counseling journey as to their finances is for the financial counselor to connect, know, and understand the emotions underlying your financial decisions. Financial counsels could take it to the next level by being explicit about their financial counseling priorities.

If you are struggling with your finances and spending behavior, you are not alone. In fact, over 50% of Americans say they don’t have enough money to cover an unexpected $500 expense. Financial professionals can help you improve your financial situation and avoid future struggles, often working closely with credit counseling agencies for a more integrated approach.

There are thousands of nonprofit credit counseling agencies across the states that can help you get back on track. These agencies are typically affiliated with one or more of the major credit reporting bureaus. They can extend financial assistance to help you with student loan counseling, avoid debts, improve savings, and make your future financial points happen.

Get Ready To Change The Way You Handle Money

Counting your financial counseling priorities, the financial services could then give support insights as to the need and feasibility of your financial counseling goals. This period is when your financial counseling expert could counsel you with the specific steps that could help you become financially stable after financial counseling.

Understanding your debt obligations is essential at this stage, as it shapes the strategies that you’ll employ in managing your finances effectively.

At this point, the most crucial part of a debt management plan is your willingness to accept a new perspective. Your credit counseling expert could be very enthusiastic to help you focus on the things that could help and not make your financial situation worse. Financial counseling, housing counseling, and credit counseling require a willingness to achieve success.

Financial counseling is designed to help people.

Financial counseling is a process that helps people find solutions to their financial problems. Financial counseling is designed to help people build a budget, choose the right financial products, and make sound financial decisions. Financial counselors typically work with people who have debt problems, but they can also help people who are struggling to save money or make ends meet.

Sometimes, counselors offer free initial consultations to help you understand what kind of services they can offer you, ensuring you can make an informed decision about your financial future.

Checking account counseling can help people avoid overdraft fees and keep their accounts balanced. Counselors can also help people choose the right checking account for their needs and teach them how to use online banking and mobile apps.

Closed-end credit counseling helps people manage their debt and make payments on time. Counselors work with people to develop a budget and create a plan to pay off their debt. They can also negotiate with creditors to lower interest rates or waive late fees. Credit counselors can help you understand your credit report, enabling you to make more informed decisions about your finances.

In addition to these services, some organizations offer counseling services that specialize in student loan management, guiding you through the complexities of loan types, interest rates, and repayment options.

Develop Discipline Through Application

A must-have, according to financial counseling

Once you have already been financially coached about the general financial counseling part, it is time for the most critical yet most challenging aspect – the application of financial lessons.

Financial stability and financial success indeed demand fiscal discipline and debt management, which can be taught in free financial counseling. This is one of the basic concepts in credit report education and guidance.

Be Humble Enough To Seek  Financial Counseling

Sarah Rumpf, MA, LPCC says “You’re considering financial counseling because something doesn’t feel right. You want relief, healing, or increased insight.” Humility helps reach financial counseling success.

Counselors are more than willing to walk with you on your way toward financial freedom.

Final Thoughts To Consider If You’re Undecided About A Financial Advisor’s Help

The key to the success of every debt management journey is the recognition that it is a two-way tango. The beautiful part, though, is that regardless of our current financial situations, the stability of finances is within reach, and financial counselors would give their time to help us achieve that if we trust them and ourselves enough. Proper management of money plays a vital role in reaching this financial stability, making the counselor’s advice invaluable in this journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of financial counseling?

Who can help me with my finances?

What can you do with AFC?

How many financial Counselors are there in Australia?

What is a financial planner?

What is financial planning?

What is the order of the five steps of an enhanced financial counseling process?

Is a finance manager a good job?

What …

The Wonders Of The Mental Health First Aid Programs

 

“It’s hard growing up with social media. A lot of kids have suicidal thoughts, more than we realize.” Stephanie Ratner, a therapist of the Mental Health Center of Denver Montbello school, stated. This isn’t far from the truth as people who claimed their lives shared depression quotes and sad images in their social media pages before their final hours. Most people thought that these were attention-seeking, but truthfully, they were cries of help left unheard and misunderstood until it was too late. Now, this recent wave of Mental Health First Aid Programs in America aims to change that.…

Amazing Benefits Of Hospice Pets Therapy

This world is a much better place if humans love unconditionally like their pets.

It has been known for a long time ago that animals make great companions during happy and sad moments. Research proves that having an animal companion such as a therapy dog decreases stress and anxiety levels and significantly reduces blood pressure and heart rate.

The Benefits Of Animal-Assisted Remedy

Hospice pet therapies use animal visits to provide social and emotional benefits to terminally ill patients. The sessions are typically short, offering patients a relaxing and understanding presence.

Emotional benefits of this program include improved mood, decreased anxiety and depression, and increased feelings of happiness and well-being.

Physical measurable benefits of this setup include lower blood pressure, improved heart rate, and reduced stress levels. It can be an incredibly beneficial experience for terminally ill patients, offering them both physical contact and emotional relief.

Clinic care patients can tremendously benefit from spending time with dogs, cats, and other animals that they can touch and cuddle. Some of these patients attest that they are more relaxed and tend to forget about their mental and emotional problems. These therapy pets provide invaluable grief support when they become part of the hospice therapy care team for patients and their families.

Some of them do turn to online psychologists, as they are more comfortable expressing their true feelings with someone they don’t see face to face and they can consult these psychologists on their own time.

Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, once said, “The most important thing in illness is faithful companionship.” This quote speaks to the power of close relationships during times of illness. The program provides an opportunity for hospice patients to connect with a non-judgmental, loving companion, such as therapy dogs. In doing so, patients can feel more understood and supported during their gentle end-of-life journey.

Therapy In Clinic

It is a type of cure that uses animals, to provide comfort and companionship to people who are nearing the end of their life. It can be used with almost any type of animal, including dogs, cats, rabbits, and even horses. The goal of the hospice pets therapy program is to provide comfort and companionship to people who are facing a terminal illness. It can be used with children and adults alike.

Hospice pet therapy can improve heart rate, bring comfort, and receive health notifications. It is a training for caregivers to human patients that are nearing the end of their lives. Hospice pet therapies can make an enormous difference for both the hospice care patient and the caregiver.

Understanding Things That Pets Can Provide

Love

The warmth of touch and cuddle makes so much difference to clinic care patients when they reach out to their companions. It validates that they are breathing and alive and loved. Unlike humans, domestic animals don’t make them feel self-pity, as they do not know that clinic patients are ill and need to be given extra comfort care, and attention. Also, their memories of Star or Buggy, or Sophie will remain until their last days, keeping them smiling as they sit or lay on their beds.

Exercise

Palliative care patients who can walk can take their visiting animal out for a stroll to get exercise. If they’re living in their own homes, they can go with their treatment animal friends and service dog’s visit their close neighbors. If they’re in a facility, they would also feel more secure and comfortable walking around with their animals that are providing faithful companionship and unconditional love. Visiting animals has become popular in healthcare facilities around the United States, helping Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, pacifying them in their agitated moments, and loving them in their lowest.

Happiness

Palliative care patients who have left their loved animals in their homes are sad and depressed. That is why they are happy when service dogs visit them in their facilities.

The Story Of Buster

JJ is an experienced service dog that has comforted several patients, including those who suffered from the Seattle Pacific University shooting. He was able to care for a certain palliative patient, Mrs. Conway, who would light up every time Buster would come. She would hold her hand and touch her fur during treatment visits. Her vitals would rise a little when she sees the dog, and they say that Buster was why Mrs. Conway lived a few more weeks. Buster was there beside her as she rested in the palliative setting. They had quite a lot of memories together.

The Story Of Boggles

Boggles puts a smile on the faces of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients in Brookdale. They have been requesting her from entire family members since she once came to visit as a service dog. Similarly, Boggles is all the more excited to be hugged and cuddled by her regular buddies at the facility. She is often brought there by her handler particularly when there are patients in a patient’s bed who are struggling to keep their last breath and Boggles comforts them as they rest peacefully.

Hospice Pets Therapy In Palliative Care

Hospice pets therapy can provide much-needed comfort and companionship during the end-of-life journey.  Animals interact with young patients as part of palliative services. With proper training, they can offer a powerful emotional bond to family caregivers and patients alike, with positive effects on anxiety, depression, and loneliness. It can be an important life care part of the end-of-life journey plan.

Moreover, it is a way to create an emotional connection with someone close to the end of their life in a nursing home. It involves bringing in a favorite animal for casual conversation and companionship. The goal is to provide a compassionate presence, encourage communication, and close companionship during a difficult time. It can be used for anyone who is facing a life-limiting illness, including those with physical pain, cancer, heart disease, and dementia.

“It’s such an experience,” says the Brookdale program coordinator. “There’s so much joy and laughter. Some patients can’t fully express how they feel, but you can see it in their eyes.”

Pet Therapy Frequently Asked Questions

Do Assistance Dogs Have To Wear Jackets?

Can Dogs Sense Anxiety Attacks?

What Do Dogs Do When They Sense Anxiety?

What Animal Is Like A Counselor?

Can I Train My Dog To Be A Service Dog?

What is the best emotional support dog?
How can my dog become a service dog for anxiety?
What is the most comforting animal?
What are the top 3 animal partners used as therapy animals?
What is the best small dog for a disabled person?
What is animal-assisted treatment in hospice?
What is animal-assisted therapy for the elderly?
How do you make a hospice patient happy?
What are the risks of animal-assisted treatment?
Why is pet treatment good for dementia?…

What Can You Gain From Animal-Assisted Therapy?

Bryan has been going to therapy sessions after he lost both of his parents from a horrific car accident. He reported to his therapist that there have been no changes since he started going for psychological intervention for his depression. His therapist patiently explained that time is not the essence of the healing process. Some people recover faster some don’t. The important thing is that if they do recover from the trauma, the goals of reconciliation, finding peace, and moving on to the next chapter of their lives are established.…

Dance Therapy And The Advantages Of Therapy

Do you feel happier and calmer whenever you listen to music and dance? Dancing might be your go-to for therapeutic intervention. We’ll discuss how dancing therapy works and its benefits.

Dance Therapy (dance movement therapy), in simple terms, is therapy through the art of dance and movement.

Dancing Therapy

Dance therapy is the therapeutic use of movement and dance. Therapeutic dancing has been shown to improve not only motor or physical functions of the body image but emotional expressions and intellectual functions as well.

It looks at the well-being of the body and mind. It supports the movement to promote emotional, social cognitive, and physical integration.

It Promotes Physical Fitness

Dance in itself is a great way for an individual to stay fit. It promotes muscle strength and flexibility, endurance, and improved balance. Dancing has been found to be therapeutic for those with decreased muscular tension and motor-system disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, dance therapy can serve as physical therapy for those recovering from injuries.

Likewise, systematic review studies have shown that moderate to high-quality dance therapy helps lessen the risk of older adults falling and other mental health issues, as it improves their sense of balance. They were also shown to have better overall health. In fact, it offers a wide selection of movements and steps, allowing basically anyone to find the type of dancing that they need.

It Reduces Depression

Exercise and dance typically release endorphins and dopamine into the person’s system. As most are familiar, these substances are typically associated with feelings of happiness. While dance and movement aren’t a single solution to depression, dancing is one method that can greatly supplement seeing your therapist.

In addition to a creative psychotherapeutic approach and use of movement metaphor, dance movement therapist works to provide a social benefit as well. By going out of the house and being exposed to other people during dance sessions, a board-certified dance movement therapist helps lessen symptoms of depression. Dancing keeps the person occupied and distracted from thoughts of sadness and hopelessness, which can further lead to eating disorders recovery, positive body language, and other emotional benefits.

It Promotes Cognitive Health

Studies have shown that dance exercises improve cognitive and neurological functions. Music therapy is said to stimulate the reward center of the brain, while dancing activates sensory circuits in the body.

Moreover, dance has also shown positive physical, mental, and therapeutic benefits for elderly individuals’ movements and self-esteem. Specifically, dance can also promote emotional effects on psychiatric patients suffering from dementia. Therapeutic dancing provides them with something to focus on, keeping their mental attention. In turn, dancing helps improve their memory and self-awareness.

It Relieves Stress

“There are so many ways stress creeps into our lives, yet if we take control of our time and make proactive and healthy decisions, we can stop these negative cycles and truly take care of our mental health,” says Sonja Seglin, LCPC.

While dance may seem daunting to others, dance exercise can actually be a form of stress reliever or stress reduction process. When you find the type of exercise you want to do, it can actually be fun.

Dance is a common form of enjoyable exercise and physical expression and integration, according to the American Dance Therapy Association. Hence, a dance therapist in clinical practice provides participants in the communities with an avenue to forget their problems during a dance therapy session and issues and focus more on the dance as a healing art.

The opportunity to socialize with others in treatment centers or rehabilitation centers also provides a critical perspective for psychosocial interventions and a way to de-stress; that’s why dance movement therapy with the help of dance movement therapists works.

It Allows Creative Expression

Everyone has an outlet for their creativity and emotions. Some people make music, and others write and express their feelings through their work. Dance is another method of nonverbal communication skills in which people can have the power to showcase their creativity and feelings without needing further research. If you’re looking for expressive arts that will serve as an avenue to create something of your own, dance therapy can be a great option.

Molly Bowman, MS, LPC once said, “With attention, curiosity, and permission to be expressed, those emotions start to become unstuck and move through”

Dance movement therapy participants may create dance routines or movements out of memories and specific emotions with the help of qualified dance therapists. Think of it as if you were to write in a journal about positive body image awareness through physical education. Although, this way, instead of using words on paper, the words are steps and movements. The space around them is the paper and canvas on which people write and paint their thoughts.

Joy Dance Movement Therapy can merit lots of physical and mental benefits. “The foundation of therapy is based on the relationship you build with your therapist. When seeking someone out it’s important you feel comfortable with them,” says Elana Schechtman-Gil LMFT.

Dancing Therapy FAQs

What Are The Benefits Of Dancing Therapy?

Dance therapy benefits include improved emotional expression, physical health, and self-esteem, as well as stress reduction and enhanced social interaction. Additionally, the positive effects of dance therapy make it a valuable treatment option for various emotional and psychological challenges.

How Is Dance Therapy Different From Regular Dancing?

What Kind Of Issues Can Dancing Therapy Help With?

Is Movement Counseling Evidence-Based?

How Does Dancing Therapy Affect Your Mental Health?

Does Dancing Release Trauma In A Toxic Relationship?

Is dance therapy a form of physical therapy?

How does a single dance intervention heal trauma?

Does dance help with PTSD?

What does dance movement therapy look like?

What are the stages of dance therapy?

Who benefits from dance therapy?

How does dance therapy help depression?

What is the origin of dance therapy?

What are the different types of movement therapy?…

Fitbits and Smartwatches: Advantages and Disadvantages

The holidays are just around the corner and people are getting ready with their Christmas lists. Online therapy is what you needed; online retail therapy that is. Retail online stores are putting up gift ideas, top picks and suggestions to give your loved ones and friends this holiday season. Usually, these lists are filled with wearable technology, drones, laptops, mobile phones and technology accessories. Some might even consider giving fitbits and smartwatches.  Before spending tons of money on a purchase that may be useless in the long run, let us consider what are the advantages and disadvantages of having one.