Therapy Dogs in training
Meet Hadley, our Golden Retriever-Poodle mix (often called a Goodle), who works alongside psychologist Dr Rachel Gleave.
Hadley is a 5-year-old weighing about 25 kg and stands hip-high. She is calm and enjoys a good belly rub. She is a trained therapy dog works with her psychologist handler to provide support during sessions. If you’d like to include Hadley in your sessions with Rachel, you’ll need to read and sign the consent form for this service, which comes at no additional cost. However, if you prefer not to have a therapy dog involved, that's perfectly fine, as animal-assisted interventions may not suit everyone’s preferences or needs.
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)
What is Animal Assisted Therapy?
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) involves integrating animals into therapy sessions to achieve specific therapeutic goals. Research has demonstrated that the human-animal bond can positively impact both adults and children, thanks to animals' non-judgmental nature and their ability to provide unconditional love. This bond helps enhance engagement and rapport between therapists and clients. Studies also indicate that incorporating animals into therapy can reduce anxiety, increase relaxation, and improve communication during sessions (Fine et al., 2015). All AAT services adhere to the Animal Assisted Intervention International Standards of Practice and the Australian Psychology Services Code of Ethics.
Therapy Dog Training
Initial training for therapy dogs emphasises socialisation in the therapy environment and with clients, along with learning basic commands and impulse control. Following this, the dogs undergo formal training with professional dog trainers, which includes obedience classes and temperament assessments. Hadley has completed Level 3 obedience training.
To ensure a positive experience, please avoid overly exciting or scaring the therapy dogs, refrain from bringing food into your sessions, cover any cuts or open wounds, and do not encourage behaviours such as jumping up or barking.
Clinical Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy
There are numerous benefits associated with working with therapy animals in training and through Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). Some of these benefits include:
Potential Risks of Animal Assisted TherapyWhile there are many benefits to working with animals, there are also risks associated with this type of psychotherapy. These include:
Interacting with Our Therapy Dogs
References
Fine, A. H. (Ed.). (2015). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Foundations and guidelines for animal- assisted interventions (4th ed.). Elsevier Academic Press.
Knobloch, H. S., Charlet, A., Hoffamn, L. C., Eliava, M., Khrulev, S., & Grinevich, V. (2012). Evoked axonal oxytocin release in central amygdala attenuates fear response. Neuron, 73(3), 553–566.
Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Domes, G., Kirsh, P., & Heinrichs, M. (2012). Oxytocin and vasopressin in the human brain: social neuropeptides for translational medicine. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12, 524–538.
Missig, G., Ayers, L. W., Schulkin, J., & Rosen, J. B. (2010). Oxytocin reduces background anxiety in fear- potentiated startle paradigm. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35(13), 2607–2616.
Mormann, F., Dubois, J., Kornblith, S., Milosavljevic, M., Cerf, M., Ison, M., et al. (2011). A category- specific response to animals in the right human amygdala. Nature Neuroscience, 14(10), 1247–1249.
What is Animal Assisted Therapy?
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) involves integrating animals into therapy sessions to achieve specific therapeutic goals. Research has demonstrated that the human-animal bond can positively impact both adults and children, thanks to animals' non-judgmental nature and their ability to provide unconditional love. This bond helps enhance engagement and rapport between therapists and clients. Studies also indicate that incorporating animals into therapy can reduce anxiety, increase relaxation, and improve communication during sessions (Fine et al., 2015). All AAT services adhere to the Animal Assisted Intervention International Standards of Practice and the Australian Psychology Services Code of Ethics.
Therapy Dog Training
Initial training for therapy dogs emphasises socialisation in the therapy environment and with clients, along with learning basic commands and impulse control. Following this, the dogs undergo formal training with professional dog trainers, which includes obedience classes and temperament assessments. Hadley has completed Level 3 obedience training.
To ensure a positive experience, please avoid overly exciting or scaring the therapy dogs, refrain from bringing food into your sessions, cover any cuts or open wounds, and do not encourage behaviours such as jumping up or barking.
Clinical Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy
There are numerous benefits associated with working with therapy animals in training and through Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). Some of these benefits include:
- Animals provide a sense of safety, security, and emotional support in the therapy room, which can enhance motivation and engagement in psychotherapy (Fine et al., 2015). This may potentially lead to a shorter recovery process and reduced costs for you.
- Research has shown that petting an animal can lower blood pressure, reduce heart rate, and increase oxytocin, a chemical in the brain that promotes bonding and calming. Studies have revealed that the human brain contains neurons that respond specifically to animals. These nerve cells are located in the amygdala, a brain centre rich in oxytocin neurons, and are crucial for emotional evaluation and stress response (Knobloch et al., 2012; Mormann et al., 2011). Oxytocin interacts with neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, GABA, ACTH, and opioids to calm the sympathetic nervous system, which governs the fight-or-flight response. Oxytocin has been shown to reduce stress responses in individuals with a history of early trauma (Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2012) and produces a unique effect of diminishing background anxiety without impacting the learning or memory of traumatic events (Missig et al., 2010). This can be particularly beneficial for trauma processing, repairing attachment wounds, and addressing interpersonal mistrust.
- Animals can aid clients in learning frustration tolerance, anger management techniques, and social rules/boundaries, which is especially beneficial for children and those on the Autism Spectrum (Fine et al., 2015).
- Interacting with animals in therapy encourages clients to develop empathy, nurturing skills, and responsibility, while also modelling forgiveness and patience (Fine et al., 2015).
- Positive reinforcement-based dog training can teach clients the importance of rewarding good behaviours in compassionate ways, which can be applied to themselves, their partners, or their children (Fine et al., 2015).
Potential Risks of Animal Assisted TherapyWhile there are many benefits to working with animals, there are also risks associated with this type of psychotherapy. These include:
- INJURY: Dogs may nibble, accidentally scratch, lick, jump, or lean against you, which could cause injury. These actions are not aggressive but are simply the dog’s way of interacting. Puppies, in particular, may still be teething and learning impulse control.
- ALLERGIES: If you are allergic to dogs, you may experience an allergic reaction. Our therapy dog Hadley has a hypoallergenic fleece coat, meaning she sheds very little hair. We also ensure our clinic dog is regularly groomed to further reduce shedding. Although our dog is less likely to trigger an allergic reaction, we cannot guarantee complete allergy safety. If you have dog allergies, you can request to have your therapy sessions in a room where the dog is not allowed.
- ZOONOTIC DISEASE: This involves the transmission of diseases between humans and animals. We take every precaution to prevent zoonotic disease transmission. The therapy dog will stay current on all standard vaccinations, and we will make every effort to prevent exposure to sick animals or humans. You may request to review her vaccination records. Cairns Trauma & Clinical Psychology will provide antibacterial wipes, soap, and hand sanitizer, which you must use before and after interacting with the dog. Please consult your doctor and inform our clinic of any health issues (e.g., autoimmune disease, compromised immune system, respiratory problems) before beginning therapy with the dog.
- FEAR OF DOGS: Therapy dogs can be a great resource for working through any dog phobias; however, you should not conduct treatment with dogs if you are too uncomfortable, as this can result in sensitization (increasing the fear/phobic response). Any fear, anxiety, or trepidation towards dogs must be disclosed before starting animal-assisted therapy sessions. If you wish to work through your dog phobia with our therapy dog, a tailored treatment plan will be developed with your psychologist to ensure that exposure interventions are appropriately timed for effective and safe treatment.
Interacting with Our Therapy Dogs
- Our therapy dog Hadley deserves to be treated with respect and kindness. She should not be hit, yelled at, have her tails or any other parts pulled, be carried, or be subjected to any actions that make her uncomfortable.
- Our therapy dog has the right to decide if and when they participate with clients. While it may be planned to include them in your clinical treatment, consistent with animal welfare practices, they will never be forced to do so.
- Psychologists Rachel is responsible for ensuring the welfare and safety of both you and the therapy dog. If at any time Hadley becomes distracting to your treatment or appear distressed, they will be removed to take a break. You can also request that our therapy dogs be removed at any time.
- There is a designated space at Cairns Trauma & Clinical Psychology for our therapy dogs. This area is where they can rest, sleep, and take breaks. They should not be disturbed while in this space (located in the therapy room or staff room).
- Due to the unpredictability of animals in unfamiliar situations, clients are not permitted to bring their own animals into therapy sessions.
- Parents or guardians of children under the age of 10 must remain on the premises during their child’s session.
References
Fine, A. H. (Ed.). (2015). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Foundations and guidelines for animal- assisted interventions (4th ed.). Elsevier Academic Press.
Knobloch, H. S., Charlet, A., Hoffamn, L. C., Eliava, M., Khrulev, S., & Grinevich, V. (2012). Evoked axonal oxytocin release in central amygdala attenuates fear response. Neuron, 73(3), 553–566.
Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Domes, G., Kirsh, P., & Heinrichs, M. (2012). Oxytocin and vasopressin in the human brain: social neuropeptides for translational medicine. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12, 524–538.
Missig, G., Ayers, L. W., Schulkin, J., & Rosen, J. B. (2010). Oxytocin reduces background anxiety in fear- potentiated startle paradigm. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35(13), 2607–2616.
Mormann, F., Dubois, J., Kornblith, S., Milosavljevic, M., Cerf, M., Ison, M., et al. (2011). A category- specific response to animals in the right human amygdala. Nature Neuroscience, 14(10), 1247–1249.
