Many people smile when a big, furry dog bounces up, craving attention. They might scratch behind her ears, rub her belly or pet her back. They will laugh as she jumps up and barks. Man's best friend has always been a comforting form of companionship for those who love dogs, and doctors finally have begun to use that relationship to benefit their patients.
Dogs, horses and a variety of other animals are used in animal-assisted therapy, also known as pet therapy, to help patients develop and explore themselves.
Therapy pets, also known as "comfort animals," are often horses or dogs because they are so social, said Dr. Matt Zimmerman, Counseling and Psychological Services staff psychologist. When humans handle and play with these animals, it calms them down, lowering their blood pressure and making them less anxious, according to the National Institute of Health.
The sociability of the animals is key to the therapy, as animal-assisted therapy impacts two main focus groups that suffer from communication, said Dr. Matt Zimmerman, specifically noting the benefits for children with autism and individuals who have suffered from some type of trauma. For these two groups of people, it often may be difficult to communicate and interact with other people. Animals come into play by helping to make these individuals more comfortable with social settings.
"The animal serves as [a] reinforcement tool for appropriate social behavior," Zimmerman said about autistic children. "If the child is being gentle and kind to the pet, then [it] stays. If the child is hitting or pulling on the animal, the pet leaves."\nSimilarly, for those who have suffered from a traumatic experience, such as sexual assault, the animal acts as a tool to help evoke emotion and help patients explore them, Zimmerman said. Individuals working through difficult experiences, like eating disorders, could benefit, as well, he said.
"Those who have gone through trauma might not trust people because their nervous system has learned the lesson that it's not wise to trust [them]," he said. "Pets can begin to teach them how to develop a trusting relationship simply because the other being is not a person."
He added that animal-assisted therapy should be used with other forms of treatment, akin to supplementary art or music therapy, and studies have shown that it is just as effective as other forms of similar therapies in autistic children. When it comes to other disorders, however, the effectiveness of the treatment tends to depend more upon the individual in question, he said.
Zimmerman also has used pets in residential treatment with chronic mental difficulties, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
"[The animals] evoked something pretty basic from early in their lives and brought them clarity for a short period of time," he said.
Pet therapy is prominent in many Virginia health care centers. The Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center and University Hospital both provide pediatric pet therapy through Therapy Dogs International, a nonprofit organization for dogs and their handlers. Volunteers from TDI visit patients and offer comfort, companionship and stimulation in mental health counseling.
The Sexual Assault Resource Agency and Gallastar Equine Center have partnered to create a therapeutic horseback riding summer camp for girls ages 8-12 who have experienced sexual abuse. The girls go to the Center for a week during the summer, then have biannual reunions to see each other and their horses. The goal of the program is to help the girls express and normalize their emotions and relationships with others, explore issues of responsibility and control and help develop protection skills.
Child Advocate at SARA Aaron Miller found the program to be very successful. Gallastar Equine Center is also a rescue farm, and the parallels there really help the girls, Miller said.
"Ron [one of the owners of Gallastar] says how the animals don't deserve to be abused, so they can come here and find a safe place," Miller said. "It's a neat parallel for the girls."
Visitation and companionship programs also help individuals psychologically. According to the NIH, animal presence in institutions that care for the elderly help patients become more lively and talkative, exhibit more alertness and attentiveness and show fewer signs of depression.
Whatever reason comfort animals are used, they help build social skills, confidence, self-esteem and improve a patient's mindset. Miller recounted a story about one girl who had never been around horses prior to her attendance at the horseback riding camp.
"She was kind of scared and really hesitant at first, but by the end of the week, she was the first one volunteering to get on a horse," Miller said. "It's really great to see them move from being really scared and concerned about doing something new to having some confidence with their horse"
Read More
U.Va. Health sees a spike in COVID-19 cases
By Emily Horn | September 4, 2023U.Va. Health ended their vaccination requirements in August, and masks were made optional in most hospital areas in early April.
U.Va. Cancer Center harnesses $12 million grant to support opportunities for undergraduates, ongoing research and new center
By Ellen Wu | January 12, 2023The grant provides an opportunity to establish the Center for Systems Analysis of Stress-Adapted Cancer Organelles, which seeks to find the cause of cancer in individual organelles.
U.Va. Health's rural neurology clinics receive a $500,000 grant to fund research and patient care
By Shrinidhi Kittur | January 12, 2023Established in the rural towns of Tazewell, Abingdon and Wise, the clinics have been providing patient care to otherwise underserved populations for decades.
