Animal Assisted Therapy
Mullum Road Clinic Psychologists offer Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) for children, adolescents, adults and families.
The goal of AAT is to improve a person’s social and emotional functioning. Advocates state that animals can be useful for a range of educational and motivational effectiveness for participants. A therapist who brings along a therapy dog also increases the rapport between client and therapist.
Our therapy dogs receive training and certification. They complete Professional Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) Courses for Human-Canine Teams.
Our clinic specialises in Animal Assisted Therapy Dogs to help assist our clients. AAT has gained significant recognition in America, however the use of animals to assist with therapy appears to be in its infancy in Australia.
Our Psychologists at Mullum Road Clinic, complete Professional Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) Courses for Human-Canine Teams. This is run by Alpha Professional Canine Trainers and 'Lead the Way' Psychologist Melanie Jones.
Ways AAT can be helpful
- Animals can teach empathy and appropriate interpersonal skills;
- Help individuals develop social skills;
- The relationship between therapy animals and the therapist can be a model for a healthy relationship;
- The presence of animals is soothing and can more quickly build the therapeutic relationship for children, adolescents and adults.
- Therapy dogs have skills that make them able to pick up social cues imperative to human relationships. Therapists then can process that information and use it to help clients see how their behavior affects others.
- Patting an animal has been demonstrated to lower blood pressure, lower anxiety and lessen stress.
- It has been shown that animals have the potential to lower human anxiety by simply being present.
Research that shows how AAT works:
Animal-Assisted Therapy for Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Results show that children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) exhibited a more playful mood, were more focused, and were more aware of their social environments when in the presence of a therapy dog. These findings indicate that interaction with dogs may have specific benefits for this population and suggest that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) maybe an appropriate form of therapy.
SAGE Journals
Source: 2015 Western Journal of Nursing Research (WJNR)
By Francois Martin and Jennifer Farnum
AAT Training
Mullum Road Clinic therapy dogs receive training and certification. Our human-canine teams aquire skills to work together in professional therapy settings (such as Animal-Assisted Therapy - AAT). Some of our Teams attended the Foundation AAI and Therapy-Dog certification course, a six day intensive course. This course involves a Workplace Assessment, visiting with a group of children or an aged care facility. This gives you working experience in visiting therapeutic settings.
Below is Psychologist Tess Shashyan with therapy dog Milo, showing an example of AAT training - role play. This was a successful training exercise, completed on day 5 of the course. Also with the participation of a dog trainer from Alpha Canine Professional. More information about Alpha Dog Training can be found on the Links page.
AAT at Mullum Road Clinic
Animal Assisted Therapy Human-Canine Team Leanne Winter and Casper were the first to complete an Animal Assisted Therapy Course together.
Psychologist Leanne Winter and Casper work with children, adolescents and adults in the clinical setting. Casper has been helpful in working with children on the autism spectrum. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders frequently experience sensory processing difficulties.
Initially it was quite difficult having Casper in the therapy room, as he had so much energy. Asking Casper to remain calm and drop in for extended periods was a challenge. These days however, Casper has adapted well to working in the clinic. Casper is now able to remain in a drop for the entire session (50 minutes) if required.
