Hualing Through Animals : Healing Through Animals

Animal Assisted Therapy also known as animal-assisted therapy has been formally introduced to the world in the last ten years or so. Although animals have always been a place of comfort for a lot of people, scientists just began to realize the impact animals have on society. The world has begun to experiment with what animals can do to benefit human health. The most common type of animal-assisted therapy is equine-assisted therapy. Equines are horses. Equine-assisted therapy 's impact on minors who have mental health issues have led to a successful new type of therapy that includes multiple benefits. Equine-assisted therapy has worked well in is treating adolescents and children how to communicate and connect with others. Two big issues that animal-assisted therapy has been known to help is Autism and kids with attachment and social problems.

In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.

For centuries people have known that animal companionship has brought many benefits to people’s lives. According to Kathryn Heimlich, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the first known time a companion animal was used to aid in a therapy program was “York Retreat in England, an establishment founded by the Quakers for persons with mental illness” (Heimlich, 2001, p. 48). As stated by Heimlich, the first published reports of the benefits of animal-assisted therapy come from Psychologist Boris Levinson. Levinson “discovered that he could reach a disturbed child during therapy

Questions arise concerning the treatment of therapy dogs when visiting patients and whether animal-assisted therapy really works at all; however, those who disagree aren’t looking at the big picture. Animal-assisted therapy is both an ethical and effective therapy method due to its success in treating those with chronic diseases, disorders, and managing stress and anxiety. The varieties of cases regarding the success of therapy dog treatments far surmount the amount of cases saying otherwise. Animal-assisted therapy stems from the human-animal connection, one of the most unique and powerful bonds man has ever experienced. It is that connection that allows animal assisted therapy to be a critical part of everyone’s daily

Another concern for the use of animals in occupational therapy is how the therapist will obtain therapy animals (Cipriani et al., 2013, p. 215). If no suitable animals are immediately available from other sources, the cost of the therapist obtaining, training, and certifying their own therapy animal is not insignificant. However, if an animal is available from another source, whether it be a volunteer or an organization, proper investigation must be done to determine the reliability and legitimacy of the provider and of the therapy animal. Winkle suggests that appropriate therapy animals can be obtained from organizations that train professional assistance animals. Although therapy animals require different skills than assistance animals are trained for, much of the intermediate training and skills are the same (Winkle, 2012, p. 11).

Animal therapy involves the use of an animal to promote the maintenance or improvement of human emotional, physical, or cognitive function. Animal therapy may be used in a group or individual setting. While dogs and horses are used most often, many other animals can be used. Quality of life is defined by the CDC as “an individual’s or group’s perceived physical and mental health over time.” Quality of life includes subjective evaluations of both positive and negative

Survivors of sexual abuse may reach a point in their lives where they find they need assistance from a professional in order to overcome the trauma of their experiences. Assisted animal therapy has been shown to make the task of having to recount painful and traumatic experiences much less daunting. Having an animal present in therapy sessions greatly increases the survivor’s ability to heal in a less threatening manner. An animal provides sympathy and comfort that are physically expressed without overstepping the therapist’s professional boundaries.

Many animals are used for therapy in various different settings. Horse riding was first used in the fifth centaury for the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers. Also to help patients or individuals adjust, horses for example, are used outdoors & dogs may be used indoors. The Delta Society defines Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) as “a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process.”

Animal assisted therapy is a type of therapy that is becoming more and more successful. Alicia MIller, co-founder of Operation Wolfhound, says, “Medication works 50% of the time, talk therapy alone, works 30% of the time, and dogs work 84.5% of the time” (qtd. in Caprioli). With overwhelming statistics like that, more hospitals or rehabilitation centers should utilize this practice. Many different ages can work with the animals, however it is mainly directed toward the youth (Pugh). Therapy animals are extremely beneficial and have helped many people cope with disorders and therefore this program should be expanded.

There are therapy animals, service animals, emotional support animals, and companion animals. Let me tell you a little bit about what each type of medical animal is used for. (Hawkins)(MedShadow) A. The first one is a therapy animal, this animal is used to help treat things such as depression, anxiety, OCD, ADD, ADHD, bi-polar disorders, and even addictions to drugs and alcohol.(Hawkins)(Landua) B. The next type is service animals.

All different kinds of animals have been used for therapy. But why are horses on the top of that list? These 2,200 pound animals are used all across the world to help people with autism, kids with behavioral issues, criminals, drug and alcohol addicts, and even the average stressed out teenager. psychologists say that horses are so therapeutic because they mirror your actions and give people an insight to their inner feelings. Many psychologists also say that people do not feel like they are involved in a therapy session. Instead, horses provide them with a sense of accomplishment and trust. If the human is tense and not willing to let go of their feelings, horses can help release those pent up emotions.

Animal-assisted therapy is an old form of therapy. It has been used in various ways dating back to 1792 when it was used to help patients in the York Center, a mental hospital, learn to care for animals (Janssen). There have been numerous studies that test it’s value since, and a majority of studies have stated that it has positive effects for people. Within animal-assisted therapy (AAT), there are different aspects of therapy that animals can enhance or provide. Animals assist therapy by making therapy sessions appealing, being an example for patients, and having positive effects on their moods.

Animals have been used to help in treatment of mental health as far back as 1972 (Trivedi & Perl, 1995). Horses have been shown to be able to calm people and allow them to open up in therapy sessions. There are many people who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and exhibit mistrust, easy to react with anger and hyper-aware of their surroundings, characteristics that can be seen in horses. Horses are prey animals and therefor they are very aware of their surroundings and watch body language to see a possible threat, people must be the leader with out being at all aggressive as to scare the horse in to a flight response (MacLean, 2011). For many with PTSD it may be easier to form a trusting, positive relationship with horses that understand them then it can be with people even people they have know for a long time. The horses seem to understand people, reading their body language and mirroring, showing these behaviors more than any other animal and this is what makes them great for therapy,allowing people to open up, relax, be in control, while trusting. The Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EGALA, 2014) has 600 equine assisted therapies programs, but more studies are needed to have evidence of the effectiveness of these programs.

Rather than the patient going to therapy and having one-on-one time with a human being or just not getting the help they need at all, one could go and have an animal help them with their condition. So let’s look at the effects of having the help of a therapy animal in a patient's life. First, patients with various disorders like depression, bipolar, social anxiety, and schizophrenia have a lower percentage of being cured if they do not use therapy animals in their treatment. Therapy animals are known for curing such disorders because of their unconditional love they give. Second, tests have shown that Americans in this generation have signs of having higher blood pressure, depression and stress levels. Since the Americans have shown the increase in the different levels, therapy animals can be used to lower the levels of stress, depression, and blood pressure within many patients and help with their

Your program is the perfect fit to help me attain the theoretical foundation and skills necessary to become a successful rehabilitation counselor and assist and empower persons who have been affected by a disability. I then will like to apply these skills and knowledge and expand the body of literature regarding the use of animals in rehabilitation counseling. There is an abundance of research from a wide range of disciplines that offer evidence on the interactions with animals and the positive effects on overall health, psychosocial well-being and recovery of individuals that are faced with a disability. I will like to develop academic courses to teach others about this fast growing, and fascinating side of rehabilitation