Most pet lovers are familiar with the old saying “a dog is man’s best friend.” For centuries, dogs have served as guardians, hunters, entertainers, and companions. Dogs possess a number of special characteristics including loyalty to their owner and to their pack.

Your pet dog may make a cute and enjoyable companion, but can dogs really help you heal?

Why canine-assisted therapy?

Animal-assisted therapy is a relatively new field, emerging in the 1990s. Since then, it has gained a wide acceptance in mainstream psychology. Trained therapists work with a variety of animals including horses, llamas, and dolphins. One of the most popular therapy animals is the dog.

Dogs offer a level of unconditional love and affection that is not found in any other animal. Their loyal nature provides a powerful therapeutic tool, especially for those with trust issues and low self-esteem. Clients can learn to build healthy relationships by observing how the therapist and dog interact.

Who can benefit from canine-assisted therapy?

Therapy dogs are not dependent on a specific type of therapy, rather, dogs can be used to enhance a variety of therapeutic techniques and help with a wide range of issues.

Clients have reported canine-assisted therapy to help with building self-esteem, developing social skills, alleviating anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reducing ADHD symptoms, and more.

Canine-assisted therapy helps clients realize that the behavior cues they practice with the therapy dog can be applied to other settings, and with other people, outside of the therapist’s office.

Get help today

Do you think you could benefit from canine-assisted therapy? In our therapy sessions together, you will have the option of working with my therapy dog, Gus. Text me today to schedule a consultation, or fill out the contact form and click Send.