By Tatum Oman

Has your child experienced a trauma? Does your child have excessive aggressive behaviors? Do they cry frequently or have insomnia? Do they have social or separation anxiety? Are they isolative or extremely hard on themselves? If you are finding that a child you know is experiencing any of the above, animal assisted play therapy could help. Play therapy is a proven therapeutic modality for children with behavioral and/or emotional concerns, and add a therapeutic animal and the therapy is effective even sooner. 

What is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is a behavioral therapy generally for children 3-12 years old. Dependent on the approach of the play therapist, the therapy itself may look different, however, the play room will look similar and the basis behind the therapy is comparable. A play room consists of specifically chosen toys to help the child express their feelings and communicate in a language that is natural to them (playing). During play therapy, a child is able to process whatever s/he is needing to, develop more appropriate coping skills, acknowledge feelings, and build tolerance for all of them, all while having fun! During the process of play therapy, a child will likely become more independent, have a decrease in anxiety, have more focus, be more responsible, and have a feeling of empowerment, among others.

What are the Benefits of Combing an Animal with Play Therapy?

Animals can help build a report between a therapist and client be providing an unconditional, nonjudgmental, and nonthreatening environment. This in turn helps the child go deeper into his/her processing quicker. A variety of animals used in animal assisted play therapy include, but are not limited to, dogs, cats, rats. I personally use a hedgehog. An animal in the play room can help a child to learn self and body awareness and stay and work in the present moment, enhance social skills, and decrease anxiety. Simply by being in the room, the little critter may help the client. An animal is different than toys because of the feedback that s/he gives in return. Having the combination of toys with a live therapeutic animal can create a very multifaceted setting. An animal can be one more modality for self soothing by petting the animal. The client may experience an increase in self-confidence after teaching the animal how to do something and/or have an increase in self-esteem by doing something for the animal, like bathing the animal or giving him/her a treat. At times, the animal in the room is very important only in the beginning stages of therapy, and at other times, the animal is utilized throughout every session or sporadically. This is dependent on the client and their needs and desires.

Can I Bring My Animal to Therapy?

It is important to note that not just any animal can be utilized in the play room. The animal needs to be a therapeutic animal. Particular animals, like dogs, must go through a test to make sure s/he would be a good fit. At other times, it is the responsibility of the therapist to be sure to be working with a therapeutic animal; an animal that is not aggressive, does not take over the attention from the therapist, and is generally calm in nature. The therapist has a relationship with the animal and knows its signs of stress, so can help the animal when needed. 

Through animal assisted play therapy, the most troubling problems can be confronted and lasting resolutions can be discovered, rehearsed, mastered, and adapted into lifelong strategies.

Published in Boulder County Kids Newsletter Winter 2014