Why Use Gus in Therapy:
Science has begun to reveal how therapeutic interaction with therapy animals can produce the follow effects:
- Having a ‘buffering effect’ during a session may result in lower blood pressure, and a significant reduction in overall anxiety.
- Human-animal interactions (HAI) have been found to reduce negative stressors due to increased production of the body's production of oxytocin. This is a hormone associated with social bonding.
- Produce general feelings of safety.
- General stress reduction.
- Enhance self-esteem.
- Encourages mindfulness and emotional awareness, ultimately improving mood regulation.
- Reduces feelings of isolation and/or loneliness.
- By acting as a focal point in the room, this may encourage communication and self-disclosure during sessions.
- Learning to transfer skills during interactions with a therapy animal may motivate real-life application for problem-solving abilities in day-to-day life.
Who is GusAugustus is a breed of dog known as a vizsla. Vizslas are known to have a temperament that is generally intelligent, gentle, obedient, and loyal. During training and interaction with clients, he has demonstrated a passion for people, and has never shown signs of aggression.
For more information on this breed, visit: http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/dogs-101/videos/vizsla/ Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT): This is a a tool for treatment defined by Pet Partners as a “goal-directed intervention directed and/or delivered by a health/human service professional with specialized expertise, and within the scope of practice of his/her profession. AAT is designed to promote improvement in human physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning." The animals are present to help facilitate progress towards each patient's goals. For more information on AAT, visit: https://petpartners.org/ |
|
About Therapy Dogs:
Service dogs vs. Therapy Dogs vs. Emotional Support Animals.. Oh my! |
|
Service Dog:
By definition, a service dog has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability. Examples of service dogs may include guide dogs, PTSD service dogs, seizure response dogs, narcolepsy alert dog, etc. Emotional Support Animal (ESA): This is a dog or animal that is not a pet. An ESA is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. The person seeking the ESA must have a verifiable disability-- the reason cannot merely be for companionship. Therapy Dog: A therapy dog is an animal trained to provide comfort to those with and without psychiatric needs in various settings, including nursing homes, schools, hospice care, disaster areas, etc. Temperament is the most important characteristic of a therapy dog. It must be friendly, patient, confident, gentle, and at ease in all situations. They must enjoy human contact, and be content to be petted and handled--sometimes clumsily. Its primary job is to allow unfamiliar people to make physical contact with it and to enjoy that contact. |
Certification & Training:
Gus was selected to be my co-therapist because of his easy temperament, and as a means to be a unique 'living tool' in the therapeutic process. If you have an allergy to dogs or are not comfortable having him in session, please alert me. As your ‘Patient Rights’ state, you have the right to feel comfortable in your sessions, and Gus is perfectly comfortable in his cage/bed. If you would like Gus to be a part of your therapy experience, a waiver must be signed by all patients called the ‘Consent and Release of Liability for Animal Assisted Therapy.’ I have been training with Gus since he was about 8 weeks old. Since this time, Gus has completed courses to acquire his Canine Good Citizen certification. Criteria for testing can be found here: http://www.akc.org/dog-owners/training/canine-good-citizen/training-testing/
|