Therapy with an animal

Hi everyone =)

Some of you know it already, we're student in psychology.
Our goal will be to be a clinician psychologist, and I'm wondering about an animal-based approach in therapy for people with dissociative disorders.
It's really something I wonder about, I found this really interesting to dig. I even plan to educate the cat I will have in July to become a therapy-pet.

There's already studies about zootherapy for autistic children, or for anxiety disorders, but I've found almost nothing about dissociative disorders.
There's people talking about the therapy dog they own, but that's almost all (but I keep searching).

So, I already know how me and my system would react with an animal in a psych's office, but I wanted to know other people's opinion about it, so I wanted to ask you few questions, in order to have a better idea about what is all around this subject.
Do not hesitate to write long answers !



- Do you think that an animal in therapy could help you to be less dissociated from your environment and/or yourself ?

- Do you think that an animal in therapy could be a kind of trigger for your system ? (like Littles coming out without warning to pet the cat/dog ?)

- If so (or if you don't know), do you see that as something which could make you stop the therapy ?

- If you're scared of physical interaction, does it apply to animals too ?

- Do you think it would be easier for you to feel safe in therapy with an animal in the office ?

- Do you think it would be easier for you to trust a therapist if he/she has an animal in his/her office ?

- Other things I didn't talk about ?

Hi,

Host met somebody that does therapy with horses. Not to ride just like walking around with them. She said it was super good for trauma. I wanted to try it but Host didn't want this person knowing about us - he's like super embarrassed. But I think the horse thing sounds really cool. The weird thing is the Littles aren't scared of the horses.

We're on the forum at the same time only thousands of miles apart. That's cool!

Iain

I like the idea, but it'd depend like 100% on the animal. For me / our system, I think everything's better if there's a cat involved. If our T had a friendly kitty who wanted pets, that'd be amazing. If she had an aloof kitty who just wanted to watch us warily from under the desk, that'd be ok too.

If it was a dog, even a friendly well-behaved dog, we'd go on alert instantly and probably never relax. I don't hate or dislike dogs, I just get really wary around them for some reason. And I know some people are the opposite. Some folks would get defensive around a fluffy kitty, but be all excited and relaxed around a doggo.

I think it'd have to be something negotiated ahead of time with the patient, nothing unexpected, and done very carefully at least the first few times?

But basically I love the idea of a therapy cat.

-Violet (1)

We like the idea of a service dog for PTSD and dissociation. these are dogs trained to stop flashbacks or dissociative states. we have seen it in action and it is very helpful for grounding.

We have been at a clinic where they had a therapy dog (which is different training from service dog). it did nothing for us. the kids were restless and irritated.
We have been to a Ts office where she kept the dog in a huge cage and the cage triggered the hell out of us.

we have heard very good things about horses for PTSD therapy, especially with early childhood trauma. it is a way to create safe attachment, physical contact, improve awareness for the body, learn trust, learn how to relate to someone, improve self-esteem and so on. They are often used when patients struggle relating to people.


if we could train our own service dog and take them to therapy, that would be helpful.
I think a strange dog would be a distraction.
we would try to ignore it
we are not good with being touched, it is easier with animals, but again, we would want to know that animal well and not just cuddle with a strange pet
an animal would not add to our sense of safety. cages obviously don't.
we have seen 3 people with therapy dogs now and we didnt like any of them. although we love dogs. it didnt rub off.

so with our experience: service dog yes, therapy dog no.

Thank you all for your answers !

Iain : Yes, I know about horses, that seems really cool !


Violet (1) : I can see what you mean. That's why I want to start with a cat, and see for a dog only in the futur. It seems people are more comfortable with cats.

And yup, everything will be negotiated with the patient. The animal is there only to be a plus.


Birdsongs : Thank you for your answer, it's interesting and gives me things to think about.
I totaly understand that having an animal, specially a dog, in the same room can be unhelpfull.
And as I don't like the idea of putting an animal in cage, I never though it could be a trigger. Thank you again.

At my therapy there is a cat that sometimes comes in. Not a trained animal. She sits on my lap and/or wants attention (from me or T).

I liked it at first, because it's special! An animal! But it actually was very distracting. I don't know if that is because it isn't a trained animal. Sometimes the animal would just... attract attention (maybe not even purposefully). It made it harder to focus and/or stay on topic.

Also, one time I took a familiar dog with me to therapy. I sometimes take care of her. She got quite nervous with the situation because I was uncomfortable just from being in therapy and she would continually stand up between me and my T and stare at me...... distracting. I felt bad for her, too, because I felt like I was supposed to be her safe figure and show her that everything is okay.

I think that's the main "problem" I have with an animal being there: it is another being to take into account.

Dwelt wrote:- If you're scared of physical interaction, does it apply to animals too ?

For me, it doesn't. I've always felt comfortable around animals.

I don't know. I guess my personal experience with animals in therapy hasn't been that great, even though I really liked the idea of it! However, these weren't trained animals.

I do feel differently about horses / horse therapy. In that case engaging with the animal is actually the main technique (so it's not just therapy + an animal) and I think horses are extremely good at reading body language (also of people).

In a state of rest: yes, animals help me to be less dissociated. But... in therapy... Not so much.

I hope this helps!!

I own 2 cats and a dog, plus share a friends horse so it's safe to say I like animals. One thing I love is watching my animals sleep. Because I have hyper vigilance, it makes me feel reassured that everything is safe because there senses are much sharper than ours. So if the animal in the office was relaxed, then yes it would make me feel relaxed too. An animal probably would make my littles come out more but I don't see that as a bad thing seeing as they have a tendency to hide and be afraid. Something like my dog would be terrible as she is young and energetic. I do find her a bit much at times in terms of invading my personal space. It's not that I'm afraid of her, but more she is unable to read when I need to have a break. So I wouldn't want any animal that was going to demand attention of me. Horses I find are great at focusing the mind and for the most part they force me to slow my breathing and relax. Because they tune into you, you have to tune into them and be aware, because of their size more than anything.

I have three cats and a dog, so I'm definitely a pet person, but I wouldn't want an animal in the office when I see my therapist. It's another being that diverts our attention (both mine and the T's), and I think the littles would have a really hard time sharing the T with a pet. They are upset right now even thinking about how a pet would get physical affection from him that they can't get. Even if they didn't have to see it, they would still know that it happens, and would be very jealous and upset to be reminded about that every week.

Dwelt wrote:
- Do you think that an animal in therapy could help you to be less dissociated from your environment and/or yourself ?

An animal are dynamic creatures and may well do so. Personally we are more attuned to cats than dogs.

Dwelt wrote:- Do you think that an animal in therapy could be a kind of trigger for your system ? (like Littles coming out without warning to pet the cat/dog ?)

Hard to say; if a dog jumped up and started licking our face we may well be triggered into a fear response

Dwelt wrote:- If so (or if you don't know), do you see that as something which could make you stop the therapy ?

we wouldn't stop therapy overall because of one incident but it would made us wary of critters

Dwelt wrote:- If you're scared of physical interaction, does it apply to animals too ?

N/A

Dwelt wrote:- Do you think it would be easier for you to feel safe in therapy with an animal in the office ?

If it was a cat, or cats, it certainly wouldn't hurt!

Dwelt wrote:- Do you think it would be easier for you to trust a therapist if he/she has an animal in his/her office ?

maybe?

Dwelt wrote:- Other things I didn't talk about ?

we had a major phobia of dogs as a child so some of us are quite wary around dogs, especially larger ones, no matter how friendly they are.

I have a Meyers parrot for an emotional therapy animal. She's small,quiet, and just helps me relax most times. Sometimes she takes a nap during therapy sessions. She makes us happy, so when there's something triggering to talk about, she calms us down.