Pet Therapy
By
Niki Ferst
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.
History Cont.
• York Retreat in England was the first
recorded therapeutic setting where animals
were utilized
• Boris Levinson and Jingles
Background
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Early pet therapy programs
Program design
Pet visitation
Physical effects
Hippotherapy
Background Cont.
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Measurable benefits
What does Pet Therapy provide?
Nurturance
Caring for animals
Pet Therapy
• Pet Therapy popularity
• What do animals provide?
• Animals, counselors, and students
Why Pet Therapy?
• What does the presence of animals offer?
• Styles of therapy
• Pet Therapy sessions
Types of Animals
• There are many different types of therapy
animals
• Most common are dogs, cats, & horses
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.