Pet Therapy

1. Pet Therapy By Niki Ferst

2. History • The importance of animals in people’s lives has been recognized for centuries • The contribution of animals to enhance quality of human life has been documented, both formally and informally.

3. History Cont. • York Retreat in England was the first recorded therapeutic setting where animals were utilized • Boris Levinson and Jingles

4. Background • Early pet therapy programs • Program design • Pet visitation • Physical effects • Hippotherapy

5. Background Cont. • Measurable benefits • What does Pet Therapy provide? • Nurturance • Caring for animals

6. Pet Therapy • Pet Therapy popularity • What do animals provide? • Animals, counselors, and students

7. Why Pet Therapy? • What does the presence of animals offer? • Styles of therapy • Pet Therapy sessions

8. Types of Animals • There are many different types of therapy animals • Most common are dogs, cats, & horses

9. Types of Animals Cont. • Farm animals can be therapeutic as well as smaller or less common types of animals such as: Rabbits, Birds, Fish, Hamsters, & Llamas • Each animal has specific skills & abilities to contribute to the therapeutic process.

10. What Should Educators Know? • Social skills development & obedience training for the pet • Therapy or activity skill training for the pet & handler • Establishing & maintaining a positive relationship with educational & counseling staff • Assessing the appropriateness of pet therapy with a particular student

11. What should Educators Know? Cont. • Basic of zoonoses (transmittable diseases) & risk management • Establishing & applying counseling or educational goals & interventions • Assessing educational or therapeutic progress • For the therapy animal obedience training is a must & should be well behaved & respond to the handler’s commands

12. Pet Therapy Counseling • The presence of the animal can facilitate a trust-building bond between the therapist & student. • When a student talks to the animal while the therapist listens is easier than talking to the therapist for more difficult issues. • Animals often help students focus on an issue as they interact with the animal.

13. Pet therapy Counseling Cont. • The animal may help student get in touch with feelings. • Sharing these feelings with or about the animal can initiate the emotional sharing process with the therapist. • For the student the animal is seen as a friend creating a safe atmosphere for sharing. • The animal offers nurturance through a presentation of unconditional acceptance.

14. Common Mental Health Treatment Goals • Improve socialization & communication • reduce isolation, boredom, & loneliness • brighten affect & mood, lessen depression, & provide pleasure & affection • improve memory & recall • address grieving & loss issues • improve self-esteem, be presented with opportunities to succeed & feel important & improve feelings of self worth

15. Common Mental Health Treatment Goals Cont. • Improve reality • improve cooperation & attention, & increase engagement • decrease manipulative behaviors • improve expression of feelings • reduce general anxiety • reduce abusive behavior • improve an ability to trust & learn appropriate touch

16. Interventions that Assist Previous Goals • Practice teaching the animal something new • engage in play with the animal & other types of appropriate interactions • learn about & practice care, grooming, & feeding of the animal • learn other information about the animal • reminisce about the animal or past animals • remember & repeat information about the animal to others

17. Interventions that Assist Previous Goals Cont. • Take the animal for supervised walks • receive & give appropriate affection & acceptance with the animal • discuss how animals may feel in certain situations • learn gentle ways to handle animals • follow a sequence of instructions with the animal

18. Interventions that Assist Previous Goals Cont. • Observe & discuss the animals response to human behavior • interpret animal behavior as it happens • generalize animal behavior to human circumstances

19. Animals in the Classroom • Benefits to integrating Pet Therapy into the classroom: • gaining knowledge about animals • learning humane animal care • motor & physical skill development through human-animal interactions • animal training • practicing discipline

20. Animals in the Classroom Cont. • Incorporating an attitude of kindness & compassion • learning about nurturance • practicing loyalty & responsibility • experiencing human-animal bonding • learning responsible pet ownership

21. Other Benefits • Pet therapy may be used to curb violence in the school • Pets in the class can enhance humane attitudes towards animals & these more humane attitudes persisted in a one year follow up

22. Other Benefits Cont. • A generalization from humane attitudes towards animals to human directed empathy • Emotional connections made with animals can transfer to more empathic attitudes towards other persons.

23. Conclusion • Pet therapy is a useful modality that can be easily incorporated into the school & counseling setting • Animals in classroom & counseling sessions facilitate an atmosphere of trust, nurturance, & relationship building • Animals actually help a person to focus on a task because of an interest in interacting with the pet.