This page is
about the therapeutic contributions animals make to human
healing.
Disclosure
Information
on this
website should not
be construed as medical or therapy advice and is provided only as
general information. Please consult your physician and other health
professionals for specific advice.
Animals:
Provide unconditional
love and friendship
Promote trust
Increase motivation
Stimulate senses
Decrease stress
Teach responsibility
Promote positive
physiological changes
Help teach language,
motor and cognitive skills.
Occupational therapists Diana Henry and
Deanna Iris Sava authors of Sensory
Tools for Pets describe how pets and people mutually help one
another.
Research has shown that pets are good for
your health. Heart attack
victims who have pets live longer. Petting a pet reduces blood
pressure. Pets in nursing homes boost morale and
promote social interaction. Watching fish
in an aquarium is relaxing and reduces stress symptoms. http://www.holisticonline.com/stress/stress_pet-therapy.htm
Animal-assisted therapy(AAT)
is a type of therapy that involves an
animal with specific characteristics
becoming a fundamental part of
a person's treatment. Other terms such as Pet therapy may be used
to describe therapeutic interactions between animals and humans.
However, this term may be misleading since several decades ago
it referred to animal behavior training programs.
Elephanttherapy.org/breaking_study.html The
Department of Occupational Therapy at Chiang Mai
University in Thailand organized an exhibition entitled
"Results of Thai-Elephant-assisted Therapy Program in
Individuals with Autism." The exhibition was shown March, 2008.
Shangrila Farm
in Virginia raises therapy llamas.
Some of them work with special needs children
at the Lewis Gale Clinic in Roanoke. Learn how the
clicker and reward system is used to to train the
llamas. As soon as the babies hit the ground they
are desensitized and taught to trust. They are halter
and lead trained as soon as possible and taught to carry a pack.
Therapet.org/animals_minis.php Miniature horses are
used at Therapet Animal Assisted
Therapy Foundation. They have
to pass a temperament test,
veterinary screening, and attend
training sessions yearly
to maintain their certification.
Photo courtesy: Therapet Animal
Assisted Therapy Foundation.
15632 Hwy. 110 S. Suite 7, Whitehouse,
TX 75791 Therapet.org/index.php Pads N' Paws is the training center used by the Therapet
Foundation to train their dogs for work in hospitals and
rehabilitation centers throughout East Texas. They have
medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, and
hospital beds to allow these dogs in training to practice
the skills needed to work in these environments.
Youtube.com/watch?v=fbBguMj7bEg Watch a variety of
pet therapy videos that show patients in schools,
nursing homes, rehabilitation
hospitals and other settings.
Who Benefits from
Animal- Assisted Therapy?
Troubled
Teens Teens may struggle
with
emotional and behavioral issues, experiment
with drugs or alcohol or
suffer from an unstable home. Professionally
trained animals may be used as part of the counseling process. Animal-assistedtherapy.com/troubledteens.html
Crossroadsgrouphome.com/CGHAATWhat.html Crossroads Group Home uses an Animal Assisted
Therapy
Program stressing
the benefits of animals and birds of
many varieties.
Having animals facilitate a variety of
benefits such
as reducing stress related to PTSD and
hastening recovery.
Animals can be an emotional outlet
as residents communicate using verbal
and non-verbal
techniques with animals in the Crossroads
Group Home program.
These puppies reduce stress and self-injurious behavior in a young man
with autism:
Children with Critical/Terminal Illness
and/or Special Needs
Islanddolphincare.org/index.htm Island Dolphin
Care provides dolphin- assisted therapy.
The activities range from hands-on
interactions with the
dolphin from the floating platform, to in-water
interactions with the dolphin.
I like how this boy begins with a simple, fun
tossing activity to get comfortable
with the dolphin (and work on many skills) before entering the water.
Senior Citizens and
Alzheimer's Victims
Whether interacting
with feathered friends, mammals or
gazing at colorful tropical
fish animals provide visual,
auditory and tactile stimulation and companionship to the elderly
population.
The Delta Society
provides articles
about animals as healers and the
benefits to patients with:
Lung transplants
Decreased immune function
Breast cancer recovery
Hypertension
Cardiovascular disease
Alzheimer's Disease
Depression
Emotional trauma
Children with divorce crises
Developmental delays
Sexual abuse victims
Autism
East
Central Therapy Dog Website Undeterred by human illness, handicap,
disfigurement,
confusion or tears, with no prejudice against creed,
color, religion or politics, these Therapy Dogs calm the
anxious, cheer the lonely, distract the pain-ridden and comfort the
despondent.
Prison
Inmates
Another therapeutic
application of animals occurs in correctional facilities through programs in which
inmates train animals to place in the community as service animals to help people with
disabilities. The inmates learn vocational skills such as animal grooming, training
and boarding.
Check out: Prison-Based
Dog Training Programs: Rehabilitation for Canine and Human
Dogwood Therapy Services Inc.is a
private
occupational therapy
practice owned by Melissa Y. Winkle, OTR/L that offers opportunities
to improve
independent living and vocational skills in natural and
integrated
community settings. She uses nature, animal assisted
therapy and assistance dogs as assistive technology options.
