Animal Assisted Therapy
Animals provide a companion when your feeling lonely, joy when your stuck feeling sad, a warm snuggle when you need a hug, an ear to listen without judgement, and relief after a long day. At HOPE we believe in the power and effectiveness of animal- assisted therapy (AAT).
Therapy dogs have been the focus of a majority of Animal Assisted
Therapy (AAT) and they provide social, emotional and physical benefits. Therapy
dogs like Molly can:
1.
Alleviate fear in the court room or play room
2.
Decrease depression
3.
Decrease anxiety
4.
Lower physiological responses to stress including
(heart rate and respirations)
5.
Alleviate communication difficulties and help build
the relationship between the therapist and client.
Molly has helped kids also learn emotional regulation by controlling their bodies to help keep Molly's body calm and excitement down. Our kids are loving Molly around on Fridays. Special activities in AAT with Molly include:
_ -Brushing-teaching the child self-care, hygiene, and brushing by learning how to care for Molly
-Commands-Treats- Teaching the child how to firmly and correctly command Molly to sit, shake, rollover, or lay down and rewarding her with special treats. Provides the child immediate feedback, instant gratification and learning to be assertive.
-Emotional Regulation-Helping the child identify and express what Molly feels and mirroring or modeling those feelings in their own bodies. When Molly is really excited and jumping and hyper the child is likely; anxious, hyper, and excited. By teaching the child coping skills and calm down tools they can calm their body and watch Molly calm down too!
-Boundaries-Teaching children personal space and respecting others boundaries.
We welcome Molly and are so
thrilled she is here for staff and clients ;)
Playful Blessings,
Brooke West, Ph.D., LPC-S, RPT-S
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