How Do Therapy Animals Help?
Besides companionship, animals are becoming more recognized by the medical field for the benefits they provide. Besides assisting with medical disabilities, animals are increasingly being used for support for a variety of mental health issues as well. Dogs, horses, and even birds may help people cope with and recover from a multitude of physical and mental health issues.
What is Pet Therapy?
Pet therapy encompasses a broad range of services including service, emotional support, and therapy animals. Well-known for providing assistance for people with physical disabilities, therapy animals can also be part of therapeutic activities for psychological difficulties. They are typically registered or certified by an animal-assisted organization after completing training.
Several species of animals can be used for therapy but dogs, horses, and cats are common. Horses are most often used for mental health issues and can be used to help build trust, work ethics, and/or dealing with difficult emotions. Learn more about equine therapy here.
A Short History
Using therapy animals is not a new concept. History shows that pet animals were used for therapy as far back as medieval times in Belgium. In the 1800s, Florence Nightingale found that small pets reduced anxiety and stress in psychiatric patients. Even Dr. Sigmund Freud used his own dog with his practice believing that his dog could pick on patients that were free from stress and allowed his dog to help calm young anxiety patients.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that a formal research project began by Dr. Boris Levinson. He found that mentally impaired patients were more comfortable with animals than other humans and began devising ways to use this knowledge to help. By 1989, the Delta Society created a certification program to ensure that therapy animals are properly trained to ensure the best success.
Mental Health Issues
While not technically considered a service animal, emotional support animals can provide comfort to those suffering from anxiety disorders, panic attacks, or other mental illnesses. Whether it is offering opportunities to be outside taking a walk, affection through cuddles, a much needed distraction from anxious thought, or just providing a calming presence, therapy dogs can offer a world of good.
As a whole, people feel happier and less lonely with an animal present. Blood pressure may be lowered and positive hormones like dopamine and oxytocin can be elevated just by being around an emotional support animal. The benefits can even positively counteract the effects of depression, addictions, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, social anxiety, panic disorder, or psychological trauma.
Does Animal Therapy Really Work?
There is extensive research on the benefits of animal-assisted therapy and data does prove that animals do have the ability to relieve stress and anxiety and improve mood. These results are actually measurable by an increase in endorphins and decrease in stress hormones like cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine.
Do you have to be an animal lover to reap the rewards? Not necessarily according to studies. Even those who report feeling neutral about animals can experience benefits from interacting with a pet.
Getting Started
Are you feeling overwhelmed and stuck? Are you held back by your past and feel as if you continue to repeat unhealthy patterns?
You are not alone.
If you are motivated to start your journey to wellness, you can be assured that you have safely arrived. Together, we will travel your unique path to a life of balance, abundance, and joy.
Please feel free to reach out to me at (203) 415-5162 or visit my website at www.journeyct.com.
References
Marcus, D.A. The Science Behind Animal-Assisted Therapy. Curr Pain Headache Rep (2013) 17: 322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-013-0322-2