Exploring the Healing Power of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Your Mental Health
What is AAT?
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is the type of therapy that involves animals as part of treatment.
It is a therapeutic approach that incorporates animals into the treatment process. It is designed to enhance emotional and social well-being while fostering a deeper connection between the client and therapist.
Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy
- Anxiety Reduction: Animals in the therapy room can have a calming effect, promoting comfort and familiarity, which can alleviate stress.
- Blood Pressure and Stress Reduction: Interacting with animals, such as petting them, has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce stress and anxiety.
- Enhanced Emotional Awareness: Therapy animals, like dogs, possess a unique ability to detect human emotional cues, helping therapists identify a client's emotional needs.
- Empathy and Social Skills: Interacting with animals can teach clients valuable lessons in empathy and appropriate social behavior.
- Boundaries and Emotional Regulation: Animals can serve as effective tools for teaching clients about boundaries and emotional self-regulation.
Animal Assisted Therapy offers a holistic approach to healing, harnessing the natural connection between humans and animals to promote emotional well-being and personal growth.
Meet our Qualified Therapy Dog- Coco
Meet Coco, our 18-month-old blue English Staffy Qualified therapy dog who is a sucker for a butt scratch. Known for their affectionate, loyal, and caring nature, Staffies embody these traits, and Coco is no exception. She eagerly participates in all activities, including providing support to those who visit our therapy space. Coco has a remarkable ability to sense when you're feeling down, offering comforting cuddles when needed.
Coco's loves chasing her tennis ball and a cheeky piece of jerky. She knows a lot of tricks, including talking on cue, and sometimes this means sassing her mum. She loves to go for big long walks, especially hiking places like the You Yangs. She has been known to demand pats on many occasions and loves to snuggle up to anyone that will let her.