Pet Therapy

By

Niki Ferst

History

• The importance of animals in people’s lives has been recognized for centuries

• The contribution of animals to enhance quality of human life has been documented, both formally and informally.

History Cont.

• York Retreat in England was the first recorded therapeutic setting where animals were utilized

• Boris Levinson and Jingles

Background

• Early pet therapy programs

• Program design

• Pet visitation

• Physical effects

• Hippotherapy

Background Cont.

• Measurable benefits

• What does Pet Therapy provide?

• Nurturance

• Caring for animals

Pet Therapy

• Pet Therapy popularity

• What do animals provide?

• Animals, counselors, and students

Why Pet Therapy?

• What does the presence of animals offer?

• Styles of therapy

• Pet Therapy sessions

Types of Animals

• There are many different types of therapy animals

• Most common are dogs, cats, & horses

Types of Animals Cont.

• Farm animals can be therapeutic as well as smaller or less common types of animals such as: Rabbits, Birds, Fish, Hamsters, & Llamas

• Each animal has specific skills & abilities to contribute to the therapeutic process.

What Should Educators Know?

• Social skills development & obedience training for the pet

• Therapy or activity skill training for the pet & handler

• Establishing & maintaining a positive relationship with educational & counseling staff

• Assessing the appropriateness of pet therapy with a particular student

What should Educators Know? Cont.

• Basic of zoonoses (transmittable diseases) & risk management

• Establishing & applying counseling or educational goals & interventions

• Assessing educational or therapeutic progress • For the therapy animal obedience training is a

must & should be well behaved & respond to the handler’s commands

Pet Therapy Counseling

• The presence of the animal can facilitate a trust-building bond between the therapist & student.

• When a student talks to the animal while the therapist listens is easier than talking to the therapist for more difficult issues.

• Animals often help students focus on an issue as they interact with the animal.

Pet therapy Counseling Cont.

• The animal may help student get in touch with feelings.

• Sharing these feelings with or about the animal can initiate the emotional sharing process with the therapist.

• For the student the animal is seen as a friend creating a safe atmosphere for sharing.

• The animal offers nurturance through a presentation of unconditional acceptance.

Common Mental Health Treatment Goals

• Improve socialization & communication

• reduce isolation, boredom, & loneliness

• brighten affect & mood, lessen depression, & provide pleasure & affection

• improve memory & recall

• address grieving & loss issues

• improve self-esteem, be presented with opportunities to succeed & feel important & improve feelings of self worth

Common Mental Health Treatment Goals Cont.

• Improve reality• improve cooperation & attention, & increase

engagement• decrease manipulative behaviors• improve expression of feelings• reduce general anxiety• reduce abusive behavior• improve an ability to trust & learn appropriate touch

Interventions that Assist Previous Goals

• Practice teaching the animal something new

• engage in play with the animal & other types of appropriate interactions

• learn about & practice care, grooming, & feeding of the animal

• learn other information about the animal

• reminisce about the animal or past animals

• remember & repeat information about the animal to others

Interventions that Assist Previous Goals Cont.

• Take the animal for supervised walks • receive & give appropriate affection &

acceptance with the animal• discuss how animals may feel in certain

situations• learn gentle ways to handle animals• follow a sequence of instructions with the

animal

Interventions that Assist Previous Goals Cont.

• Observe & discuss the animals response to human behavior

• interpret animal behavior as it happens

• generalize animal behavior to human circumstances

Animals in the Classroom

• Benefits to integrating Pet Therapy into the classroom:

• gaining knowledge about animals

• learning humane animal care

• motor & physical skill development through human-animal interactions

• animal training

• practicing discipline

Animals in the Classroom Cont.

• Incorporating an attitude of kindness & compassion

• learning about nurturance

• practicing loyalty & responsibility

• experiencing human-animal bonding

• learning responsible pet ownership

Other Benefits

• Pet therapy may be used to curb violence in the school

• Pets in the class can enhance humane attitudes towards animals & these more humane attitudes persisted in a one year follow up

Other Benefits Cont.

• A generalization from humane attitudes towards animals to human directed empathy

• Emotional connections made with animals can transfer to more empathic attitudes towards other persons.

Conclusion

• Pet therapy is a useful modality that can be easily incorporated into the school & counseling setting

• Animals in classroom & counseling sessions facilitate an atmosphere of trust, nurturance, & relationship building

• Animals actually help a person to focus on a task because of an interest in interacting with the pet.