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:
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:
If AAPT sounds like something you might be interested in, please don't hesitate to contact the practice. If you're a clinician interested in implementing animal assisted play therapy in your work, we may be able to collaborate.
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 AAPT sounds like something you might be interested in, please don't hesitate to contact the practice. If you're a clinician interested in implementing animal assisted play therapy in your work, we may be able to collaborate.
