Animal Assisted Play Therapy
This is Magnolia, but we all call her Maggie, Mags or a bunch of other various nicknames. While Maggie's career in animal assisted play therapy was on hiatus due to the pandemic, she's a sweet love bug looking to get back into the office for a few sessions. Maggie is a bit older, 11 years old now... so her schedule is limited.
I (Amanda) have training in Animal Assisted Play Therapy (AAPT), which I have found is actually much more in depth than solely saying I do "animal assisted therapy". Animal Assisted Play Therapy is inclusive of animal assisted therapy in that the training is more extensive, as far as understanding animal behavior, honoring the animal's needs, and providing support for your needs while also supporting, in this case Maggie's needs.
Some of the benefits of working with a pet in therapy are:
Building rapport in the therapeutic relationship
Facilitating insight
Enhancing social skills
Enhancing relationship skills
Enhancing self-confidence
Modeling specific behaviors
Encouraging sharing of feelings
Providing behavioral reward
Enhancing trust within therapeutic environment
Facilitating feelings of safety in the therapeutic environment
Reference: O'Callaghan's (2008) 10 intentions and 7 techniques used in mental health treatment involving animals.
Some of the goal areas of AAPT include:
Self-Efficacy
Attachment & relationship
Empathy
Self-Regulation
Specific Problem Resolution
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please reach out to the practice. If you are a clinician who is interested in implementing animal assisted play therapy, contact me and we can discuss collaborating.
I (Amanda) have training in Animal Assisted Play Therapy (AAPT), which I have found is actually much more in depth than solely saying I do "animal assisted therapy". Animal Assisted Play Therapy is inclusive of animal assisted therapy in that the training is more extensive, as far as understanding animal behavior, honoring the animal's needs, and providing support for your needs while also supporting, in this case Maggie's needs.
Some of the benefits of working with a pet in therapy are:
Building rapport in the therapeutic relationship
Facilitating insight
Enhancing social skills
Enhancing relationship skills
Enhancing self-confidence
Modeling specific behaviors
Encouraging sharing of feelings
Providing behavioral reward
Enhancing trust within therapeutic environment
Facilitating feelings of safety in the therapeutic environment
Reference: O'Callaghan's (2008) 10 intentions and 7 techniques used in mental health treatment involving animals.
Some of the goal areas of AAPT include:
Self-Efficacy
Attachment & relationship
Empathy
Self-Regulation
Specific Problem Resolution
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please reach out to the practice. If you are a clinician who is interested in implementing animal assisted play therapy, contact me and we can discuss collaborating.
