Many of us know the joys of having a pet in our lives. There’s no surprise then that pet therapy has become increasingly popular over the years. But, there are still a lot of misconceptions about what “pet therapy” is and the benefits.
The phrase “pet therapy” sounds like you may be setting up your beloved Spot with their own therapist, but pet therapy is a little different. It is actually better known by the name “animal assisted therapy”. In animal assisted therapy, a licensed therapist may use animals (most often, but not limited to, dogs) as adjuncts to traditional talk therapy.
Most often, pet therapy means that a pet would be present with you during your sessions with your therapist. Sometimes they may be used as part of the treatment itself (animal assisted activities). Pet therapy is most often used to help clients dealing with anxiety, depression and working through trauma.
Sigmund Freud and his pups Lun & Jo-Fi
It was commonly known that the father of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud, conducted talk therapy sessions with his dogs, especially in his later years of practice. Reportedly, he did this because he found that dog’s were a great judge of patient’s character. That is, he thought that the animals could provide some helpful insight based on their reactions to his patients. His pups might signal to him when a client was in distress and even move closer to the client in those moments. Dogs are pretty smart!
These days, therapists conduct sessions with pets for a variety of reasons, most notably:
- Therapy animals can help build rapport and strengthen the relationship between therapist and client quickly
- Animals in therapy can be very comforting to clients in distress
How Pet Therapy Can Help
Pet therapy can help a lot of different concerns and has a whole host of benefits to clients, which is why more and more therapists are seeking to bring furry co-therapists into their sessions. Animal assisted therapy (or activities) has been shown to:
- Reduce anxiety in clients during sessions
- Reduce fear for clients undergoing difficult treatments such as ECT
- Increase hopefulness and positive feelings in patients
- Help moderate social anxiety
- Lessens the impact of autism spectrum disorders
- Lead to beneficial results with clients with Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia as well as other developmental disabilities
- Help clients work through trauma and better regulate mood
- Help clients improve communication skills
- Reduce workplaces stress
As you can see, pet therapy has a host of benefits and works well with a range of different issues in therapy. Pet therapy teams around the country also work as volunteers in institutions such as hospitals, nursing or retirement communities, and schools.
A variety of animals (not just dogs!) can be trained and registered as pet therapy animals. Anyone can also be a handler and volunteer with their trained pet in the locations mentioned above. If you have interest in learning more about pet therapy you can visit Pet Partners to learn more and register to be a pet therapy team.
At Viva, we have our own furry co-therapist who is working on her training as well (check her out on our Instagram page @vivawellnessnyc). Hopefully, you’ll be able to meet and work with her soon!
To learn more about Viva Wellness visit our business website at the following link.
Author: Jor-El
Jor-El is Co-founder of Viva Wellness and a foodie and film buff. He most often writes about mental health, relationships, food and mindfulness. When he’s not busy working, he typically can be found lounging or walking around NYC with his pup Nomi.
