Animal Assisted Therapy
Making a real connection with those patients that are emotionally and or socially isolated is one of the great difficulties in therapy. It is in this area that animal assisted therapy has made such wonderful and helpful progress that ongoing studies are conducted in an effort to quantify the therapeutic results.
Animal-assisted therapy is a type of therapy that involves an animal to assist with the fundamental treatment of a patient. Animal-assisted therapy is designed to improve the physical, social, emotional, and sometimes even the cognitive functioning of patients in many different environments. In addition, there are also many educational and motivational treatments for children and other participants that are often used in an educational facility.
Animal assisted therapy can be provided on an individual or group basis during which the patient and therapist can focus on specific goals or simply holistic healing and attachments.
Kinds of Animal Assisted Therapy Animals
Many kinds of animals are used in therapy, including dogs, cats, elephants, birds, dolphins, rabbits, lizards, and other small animals. Animal assisted therapy with horses is known specifically as equine-assisted therapy, but there are many therapies that use animals for pure comfort in a restricted environment such as home or treatment center.
In a more restricted environment, animal assisted therapy is often used to help the specific needs of the elderly and/or physically or mentally infirmed. Many times, these are the patients who experience frustrating periods of loneliness in social isolation.
Animal assited therapy helps so many reconnect or even connect for the first time that therapists and counselors utilize this treatment option with great success.
Related Posts
- Assistance Therapy with Animals
- Group Therapy
- Therapy Forms for OCD
- Anger and Family Therapy
- Marriage and Family Therapy Guidelines
