Animal-Assisted Therapy

Animal-assisted therapy is the use of trained dogs or other animals to help human beings with specific health problems. Current evidence indicates that several groups of people, including individuals with cancer, serious heart problems, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), can benefit from this form of therapy.

The Basics of Animal-Assisted Therapy

Animal-assisted therapy is a specific form of pet therapy. It differs from the use of dogs or other animals in a group of activities, known as animal-assisted activities. Those rely on animal interactions to generally brighten the moods of people such as hospitalized patients and nursing home residents. In contrast, animal-assisted therapy relies on animals to help doctors or therapists achieve concrete treatment goals.

The animals used in this form of therapy receive extensive instruction on how to interact well with human beings. Not all animals can meet the requirements for this type of fruitful interaction. Trainers are highly selective about the animals they pick for involvement in assisted therapy programs. Before a session of animal-assisted therapy begins, a client or patient’s doctor will typically explain the basics of the approach. Then, the doctor asks permission to bring in the animal. After receiving permission, a trainer or handler will accompany the animal while the client/patient has a chance to interact with the animal, his or her doctor, and the animal’s handler. Animal-assisted therapy frequently takes place in a hospital, but can also take place in other treatment settings.

The Therapeutic Alliance

The therapeutic alliance is a bond that forms between therapists and their patients or clients as the course of therapy proceeds over time. Researchers and health professionals are well aware that the establishment and continued maintenance of this type of bond can increase the positive effects of therapy participation and help clients/patients successfully achieve their treatment goals. Therapists work to establish and sustain an effective therapeutic alliance by doing such things as treating their clients and patients in a warm and respectful manner, paying close attention to the shifting tone of each therapeutic interaction, maintaining a trustworthy demeanor and staying away from attitudes or approaches that can alienate or estrange a client or patient.

Therapy At Lucida Treatment

The aforementioned therapy isn’t the only solution to mental illness or substance abuse. Lucida Treatment helps treat addiction through detox and therapy. Detox helps your body purge the substance from your system, and overcome your physical dependency on said substance. After detox, therapy tackles the psychological roots of addiction. Therapy also gets to the bottom of your mental health problems. At Lucida Treatment, we offer a wide variety of therapies professionally designed to help you with mental health, substance abuse, or even both at once. Therapies offered at Lucida Treatment’s addiction and mental health treatment center include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy Program
• Family Therapy Program
• Gestalt Therapy Program
• Group Therapy Program
• Individual Therapy Program
• Psychodrama Therapy Program
• Trauma Therapy Program

If you want to get sober or beat mental illness, Lucida Treatment can help! Contact us online or call us today at 1.866.947.7299 to overcome addiction and mental illness for good!