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Benefits of Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

 For those who haven't met my canine co-therapist, let me introduce you to her: 

Meet Fender. She's a two and a half year old Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix. She's small, but has a HUGE personality. She's imperfect. She barks during session when someone walks by the door. She struggles with boundaries because she loves to give clients kisses. And she gets away with it because she's so cute (most of the time, anyway).



So, why do I have a dog as my co-therapist? Because she brings something to the table that is uniquely powerful. She invokes a relationship between human and animal that is disarming and healing. Let me explain. 

Animal Assisted Therapy is an evidenced-based treatment modality in which animals are included in an intentional manner for the purpose of therapeutic benefit (ie, Fender's not just there because she's adorbs, she's there for a reason--because it's shown to be therapeutic). Many studies have shown the benefits of utilizing Animal Assisted Therapy as an adjunctive therapy to traditional models. For example, research shows that working with animals in the therapy room yields greater results in reducing symptoms of PTSD, reducing issues of attachment concerns, and increasing client motivation towards treatment, and decreases stress of the treatment process itself. 

Here's a few reasons why I'm an Animal Assisted Therapist, and why I'll always have a canine as my co-therapist: 

1. Animal Assisted Therapy has a measurable effect on stress levels.

Studies show that merely having an animal, even an unfamiliar one, in the therapy room, lowers physiological arrousal, like heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones (Chandler, 2005; Parish-Plass, 2008). The act of stroking a dog is shown to reduce cortisol levels, a stress hormone that often shows up when we are experiencing anxiety and trauma triggers, and is often hanging out at a much higher baseline in individuals who have experienced past trauma or live with anxiety disorders. Trauma therapy is not easy, as many of you know. Having a dog in the room and working with her as we process the trauma helps the client to regulate as they are processing, helping them stay in the window of tolerance and not become over activated. 

2. Co-regulation

Co-regulation is a big deal! "Coregulation lies at the heart of all human relationships. According to Polyvagal theory, it is the reciprocal sending and receiving of signals of safety. It is not merely the absence of danger but connection between two nervous systems; each nourishing and regulating the other in the process" (Khiron Clinics, 2020). I mentioned previously that Fender is not perfect (no dog- or person- is!). But that makes her so valuable to therapy sessions. When she herself becomes dysregulated (cue Fender barking at my poor office neighbor walking by to use the restroom, or getting wayyyy too excited when a client sits down on the sofa), it provides an opportunity for clients to soothe her and calm her. This is hugely beneficial. Let me tell you why- when we live with trauma/anxiety disorders, we tend to not have much feeling of control over our nervous systems. Our fight/flight/freeze response hijacks our bodies and we are left feeling like we have very little control over how we feel. Each time we tap into an ability to calm ourselves and soothe ourselves, we gain a little more control over the ability to get back in the driver's seat of our nervous systems. But, that's hard to do! Enter co-regulation. Think about soothing a baby that is crying. You have to speak calmly, quietly, be tender and loving. You can't do that when you're over-activated. You have to soothe yourself in order to soothe the baby. It's the same for calming an activated chihuahua in your therapist's office. By practicing this co-regulation, the client is able to soothe themselves in order to soothe the dog. They send safety signals to the dog, thereby calming her. And it works both ways too! When clients are experiencing anxiety and stress related to trauma processing, Fender provides a comfort and calm, helping with regulation. It seems natural and simple, but it is oh so powerful when it comes to harnessing control over one's own nervous system. I love seeing this happen in action in the therapy room. 

3. Dogs are Relatable

Dogs are goofy. They have wants and needs and they make mistakes and have such big personalities. Many therapy dogs, including Fender, have their own trauma histories. The fact that dogs have such relatability- be it a trauma history or a funny quirk- makes them perfect therapeutic mediums. They provide an opportunity for projection and a glimpse into the client's inner world. This is disarming, and allows the client to explore trauma in a safe way, especially when other interventions have failed. 

Animal Assisted Therapy is still in it's infancy in many ways, but more and more research supports it as an effective intervention. I'm really proud to work with Fender and do the work that we do with Animal Assisted interventions. 

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