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.…
Category: Animal Therapy
The Amazing Furry Benefits Of Pet Therapy For People
Let’s talk about how therapy dogs, and any other pet, for that matter, can help you truly heal with their benefits.
What is it like to have a fur bundle to help you with any problem you might face? Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) or pet therapy uses specially trained animals in enhancing the physical, emotional, and social interaction of patients.
The goal of this animal-assisted intervention treatment is to help people strengthen their confidence, deal with increased risk, discover any anxiety symptoms, and improve their healing processes. The sessions naturally consist of the healthcare professionals or specialists, the pet, the animal handlers, and the patient.
Animal Assisted Therapy is usually used to encourage social interactions and improve the overall well-being of individuals. Before deciding to apply for an animal-assisted treatment program, we must do more research to know what it does. The following are some of the benefits for individuals.
A therapy animal can help adults to move more, stretch farther, and exercise longer. Dogs are one of the most common therapy animals. Stroke survivors, military veterans, residents of the same facility, or persons with an injury can take significant amount advantage of pet therapy.
The perks of a human-animal bond include giving comfort and motivation to the survivors for their faster recovery. A dog who is trained for treatment purposes can aid stroke survivors with their stroke recovery programs and exercises like walking.
These other animals can also help them with some simple animal-assisted activities. Brushing the dog’s fur with the help of the animal’s handler, feeding the furry friend, and snapping the dog’s leash is some example of the things that they can do together. These obedience training exercises can become their physical therapy, assist in decreasing spasticity, and increase motor skills recovery. Not just for stroke survivors but these activities can become a physical treatment for everyone.
Pet therapy programs are known to offer a range of physical and mental health benefits. These include reducing blood pressure, improving cardiovascular health, and lowering anxiety. Trained animals have a cheering and calming effect on individuals, which is why many nursing homes and hospitals now incorporate Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) programs. Additionally, AAT encourages individuals to engage in verbal communication more often.
Animal Therapy Benefits
There are also benefits of pet therapy programs for children, as it helps them to overcome any speech disorders. Animals are trained well to help individuals with mental illnesses and other mental health conditions such as Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and individuals with autism.
One study of healthcare providers showed that a person with Alzheimer’s who is interested in and interacts with service dogs had increased his recounting memories, especially if they’re in a senior living community. It also helped him improve the quality of how they live their lives. Some may not believe that animals are good companions in this manner, but science has proven it as such.
Therapy With Animals Provides Psychological And Physiological Help
More research also has shown that the use of animal assisted therapy for individuals from different age groups can decrease their stress levels in healthcare settings. It can also help in reducing your anger and aggravation, decrease hostility toward yourself, and improve social relations and verbal communication among family members and other patients. Other benefits of a therapy program include reducing your heart rate and releasing beta-endorphins, enhancing self-esteem, and trust in others for the individual.
Service animals provide many perks. Any type of animal such as dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, dolphins, fish, and others is typically used for something called animal-assisted therapy. Depending on what animal is needed, focus treatments can take place in a hospital, institution, or even at your own home. Although an instructional course is not needed, it is essential that the animal and the client are compatible with each other to promote social interaction or improve social skills. Also, it is necessary to check if the client has animal allergies. It will be a disastrous session in case the client has cat fur issues and the service animal to be used, well you guessed it, is a cat!
Frequently Asked Questions
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What Are The Positive Psychological Health Benefits Of Keeping Therapy Animals?
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How Can Animals Help Us Emotionally?
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When Can You Benefit From Animal-Assisted Interventions?
- What are the qualities of a good visitation therapy animal?
- Can a service animal help alleviate anxiety? In what yay?
- In what ways do service dogs help alleviate depression in people?
- Can animals sense anxiety?
- Do animals help with ADHD?
- What is the best dog for emotional support?
- Is animal therapy more effective than medications?
- How can people benefit from animal-assisted therapy?
- Does having a favorite animal really benefit your mental health and overall wellness?
- How does an animal help reduce stress and anxiety?
- Can animals help people with depression?
- How can animals boost your mood?
Most Commonly Used Animals For Therapy
Animal Therapy Booms
As more and more animals are treated as pets nowadays, their role in therapy has also become fast rising. Adults and children have been benefiting from animal therapy for years now, and the types of animals being utilized have not only been limited to dogs, but also to other pets as well.…
The Positive Effects Of Animal Therapy On Autism
About Animal Therapy
The use of animals for the cure and recovery of adults, children and seniors have become rampant across the globe for the past few years. It involves the use of dogs, horses, cats, rabbits and other animals to assist in the therapy of patients with different mental and physical conditions.
The principle of animal therapy is based on the fact that most people who have pets are relatively happier and less depressed amidst their daily challenges. Thus, animal-assisted therapy was born. The general benefits that have been reported so far include reduced depression and loneliness, better moods, increased ability to interact socially, promotes relaxation and good sleeping habits, and enhanced attention skills. Before continuing to read on, keep in mind that this type of therapy has been around a long time, unlike therapy options like online therapy; which is why some companies offer it free as mentioned here in this article.…
Dog Therapy: How Effective Is It?
Assisted Animal Therapy (AAT) has not been widely recognized but is a fast-emerging program that is utilized by schools, clinics, and hospitals in the United States. Animals are incorporated into therapy programs to help students improve school performance. Adults also benefit from AAT in their recovery from depression, anxiety, and other mental concerns. The dog is the most used ‘co-therapist’, being man’s best friend and one of the most intelligent pets that can be easily trained. Let us discuss the different benefits of dog therapy on the road to recovery of adults as well as the youth needing help.…
What is Equitherapy?
Do you know what equitherapy is? To be honest, a lot of people don’t know what this is or even heard of it before. So, what is it? Well, this is in a sense, horse therapy. Now, it isn’t about helping a horse heal after injury but rather the horse being used as a tool to help a human recover. It’s not something that is well known or at least, not well known in large circles and yet it’s quite important and highly popular.
Using This Therapy
However, the horse isn’t just this cuddly toy for children or adults to enjoy but rather a secure outlet for them. For example, when someone has developmental issues, equitherapy can be used as a way to help them attach to something and maybe even develop. Like what Dr. Steven Lazarus, PsyD used to say, “Children and teens often struggle with intense conversations, and a soft, furry dog in an animal-assisted therapy setting can be a great ice breaker or stress-reliever.” What’s more, soldiers serving in the army and who have post-traumatic stress disorder can often find horse therapy is useful for them. It really does sound strange and, to be honest, a lot of people don’t understand it and yet it is a useful outlet, to say the least.…
Horses for Health
When you have been gravely injured and are on the road to recovery, what can help speed up the recovery? Despite what you might think, there are many avenues to explore and they can all be extremely versatile and highly useful. There has never been a better time to find new methods to recover. Have you thought about horses and how they can help you recover? Horses for health, is it really a possibility?
How Can Horses Help You Heal?
In all honesty, people can connect to a horse more so than talking to someone about their injuries. That is one of the biggest reasons as to why horses can be very useful when it comes to healing. Yes, it might not be the most conventional route and yet it’s quite an important route to consider, to say the least. There has never been a better time to turn to horse riding and you can enjoy the experience as well. You will love how easier it will be to heal with horses and while it’s a strange concept, it does work.…
Animal-Assisted Therapy Programs
Have you thought about using animal assisted therapy programs? Probably not but they can actually be something which thousands are turning to each and every year. Animal-assisted therapy programs probably aren’t talked about on a wide scale basis, but why not? They offer some of the best therapy options for millions and it can be quite effective.
How To Find An Animal-Assisted Therapy Program?
Firstly, it could be wise to inquire to the hospital you have been recovering at and they might be able to help you find a suitable outlet. However, you might also want to think about looking online for local programs. There are quite a few animal-assisted therapy programs to enjoy and you can find they are useful in many ways and not as costly as you might think. You really are going to find that these types of therapy programs can be used to help a variety of people and they can be so useful. It’s something you might want to try whether or not you are initially drawn to them.…