Personal Examples of the Effectiveness and
Uniqueness of Animal Assisted Therapy
Adults, children and teens that walk into Animal Assisted Therapy of the Mountain Communities are greeted by at least 2 animals when they walk in the door!
WELCOME TO THE PACK
As Dexter, Karma, Tebow or Jesse, our therapy dogs approach the new client, there is often an immediate easing of the awkward tension by talking about how silly or playful the dogs are acting. The feeling of unconditional acceptance, safety and comfort fills the air as Tebow the puppy jumps in excitement to get to know a new client. Also, one of our therapy cats, Tigger, can be found in the front office also, waiting for the clients to play. The animals can provide a sense of peace and connection when coming to therapy for the first time which can be a difficult decision for some clients.
The clients can then look through Dexter’s scrapbook. Each page gives different details of Dexter’s life and prompts the client to share something that relates to Dexter in his own unique way. This way of taking the pressure and stress out of the atmosphere leads to building rapport and trust. In addition, having therapy dogs in the session allows the client to see how much our therapists care about animals which often leads the clients to see their therapist as more likable.
THERAPY WITH DEXTER
My friendliness, playfulness, and gentle spirit is demonstrated by the way I interact with Dexter, which helps the client feel secure and safe with me. Therapy sessions with Dexter are fun, exciting, different and novel.
For example, 10 year-old Sachia, worked diligently teaching Dexter “up” and “roll-over.” She commented that she has quit everything she has ever tried in her life before. I asked her what was different this time? She said she really wanted Dexter to listen to her “up” command and she wasn’t gonna stop until he did it. At the end of 30 minutes, Sachia was able to lure Dexter “up” with a treat. She demonstrated patience, commitment, diligence, and problem solving skills. The look of fulfillment, self-confidence and pure joy on her face is something I never will forget as she said, “I did it”. By working with Dexter, Sachia will remember that she can do hard things if she persists and she can accomplish anything if she puts her mind to it.
With my therapy dog, Dexter, I am able to work with my clients in the “here and now” observing how they interact with the animal and commenting on how their behavior is affecting or not affecting the animal and noticing how the animal is responding to them. For instance, I have said to my client, Kara, an adult survivor of child sexual abuse, “wow, what is different in you today? It seems Dexter is so much more interested in being near you and playing with you today.” Kara thought reflectively for a moment and answered, “I made an effort to look at him, pet him, smile at him and throw his ball for him”. This led to a more engaging fulfilling experience with Dexter that day, unlike the previous weeks when she didn’t make an attempt to connect with him. This helped Kara get clear on how her behavior and actions affect those around her outside of therapeutic relationships. She learned that how she conducts herself, which she has control over, has a great deal to do with how other people respond to her.
~ Kim Grogan
OUR ANIMALS CREATE A SAFE SPACE FOR CLIENTS TO HEAL FROM TRAUMA
5 year old “Lisa”, with a sexual abuse trauma history, came to therapy for the first time, she was shy and scared. Having Dexter greet her with a shake and a tail wag made her feel at ease and she wanted to see what other animals were there for her to explore with. I hoped that building relationships with our animals would slowly help her learn to trust herself and other people again. I had faith that she would build a stronger sense of herself and increase her capacity to play with the animals to bring about her healing.
I was optimistic that by coming to AAT, Lisa would increase her ability to form secure attachments by nurturing and loving our guinea pig, Play doh. I hoped to give her the opportunity through AAT to build feelings of reassurance and calm within her. Lisa just thought our office was a safe place, somewhere she could feel happy and be with animals who made her feel good. After 6 months of AAT, Lisa made amazing transformations and mom and dad said they began to see the happy confident girl she was before her abuse. She is now feeling peaceful in her sleep and peaceful with her family and friends.
ANIMALS BRING OUT LOVE AND JOY
The animals at AATMC help build trust and rapport between our therapists and the clients, encourage a sense of normalcy, and natural connection in a nonjudgmental way. They also help provide laughter, joy and happiness as the animals do something spontaneous to make the clients laugh. Watching the two guinea pigs chase each other around the playpen and squeal in delight gave my client a sense of joy that she claimed is lacking in her life.
Happiness is an emotion that fosters well-being and it is contagious, watching our animals enjoy their lives brings peace to our clients. At AATMC, our clients work on learning adaptive skills for difficult situations, increasing their ability to self-sooth and discover novel ways to regulate their emotions.
Learning to tolerate frustration to increase patience can undoubtedly increase the peace that our clients experience on a daily basis. For instance, teaching the puppy Tebow how to sit can be an exhausting process that requires and heightened patience and focus. Perseverance creates peace in life because by providing fun ways for our clients to learn how to not giving up on goals can lead to a more positive self-concept.
We promote peace in our therapy practice by understanding that peace begins in the home of our clients. So when a child comes into our practice with a particular problem, or a couple is in crisis, at times, we involve the entire family using a systemic perspective because bringing peace into the community starts by learning how to create a healthy, peaceful family. Watching the animals interact often leads to discussion with our clients on non-violent resolution to conflict within families and peers and how to solve problems peacefully by letting go of anger and resentment which is what the animals are able to do.
LEARNING MINDFULNESS
At AATMC, therapists help our clients, whether they are children or adults, to learn the basics of mindfulness, paying attention on purpose, with no judgment and letting thoughts come and go without criticizing. Our trained AAT therapists employ mindfulness interventions where our animals act as agents of de-arousal and help clients learn calming and self-soothing skills to decrease anxiety and depression. Since animals teach us how to live in the moment, they help clients learn the value of gratefulness and learning to choose to feel thankful for the gifts we have been given in life instead of concentrating on what we don’t have.
A mindfulness exercise that I do with my children, teen and adult clients with Dexter is laying the client on their side and having Dexter lay right with them as they relax and do a deep breathing exercise. The client can feel Dexter’s breath and heartbeat as they both lay still, they can feel his body move up and down as he breathes. The client is still for about 2 to 5 minutes working on becoming mindful and letting thoughts come and then releasing them along with anxiety they might be feeling. Clients seem to love this exercise and report feeling calm and harmonious afterward.
OUR ANIMALS DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY TO LOVE LIFE IN THE MOMENT
When something bad happens to them, they are resilient and they show the clients that life can be hard but with perseverance and courage, everyone can learn how to find the inner strength to be happy again.
Dexter has a page in his scrapbook describing how he was abandoned in the desert as a puppy with both his mother and father being killed on the ranch he lived on as a stray. He was rescued by my family and with daily love, comfort and support, Dexter began to feel safe. He let go of his nervous and anxious tendencies, became more secure and learned that he can be happy and healthy. He life is a testimony of strength and determination. Our clients that have experienced hardship and trauma in their lives identify with Dexter and learn from his example.