Animal Assisted Therapy- a Relief for Stress, Anxiety, Depression & Much More
As first step to achieve this goal and to serve larger number of special children and to promoting and create awareness on the concept of AAT in Mangaluru – the first of its kind in Mangaluru, Anirvedha – Resource Centre for Psychological Wellbeing, Mangaluru, in association with ‘The Paws and Hooves Project from Wag-Ville Bengaluru, ‘Animal Care Trust (ACT)-Mangaluru & ‘Mangaluru Horse Riding Academy’ organized a “Workshop on Animal Assisted Therapy” on April 27, 2019 – Mangaluru, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, at Anirvedha Resource Centre for Psychological Well-being, Kankanady, Mangaluru.
Mangaluru: What Is Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) ? Animal-assisted therapy improves patients’ mental, physical, social and emotional functioning with the aid of animals. Depending on the needs of the patient, many different animals can be used in therapy, including horses (also called equine-assisted therapy), dogs (also called canine-assisted therapy), dolphins, llamas, rabbits and other animals. AAT takes place in a variety of settings, including prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, therapeutic boarding schools for teens and mental health facilities. This form of treatment can take place individually or in groups and is led by a qualified therapist or professional with specialized expertise. Much more than simply spending time with an animal, animal-assisted therapy involves specific therapeutic goals, strategies and outcomes measures. Therapeutic experiences can include walking, brushing, petting and caring for an animal, as well as processing the experience of trying to achieve a given task.
So, what are the benefits of AAT? There is a strong bond between animals and people. Animals are accepting, non-threatening and non-judgmental, making it easier for people to open up. Some of the benefits of animal-assisted therapy include: Improved fine motor skills; Improved balance; Increased focus and attention; Increased self-esteem and ability to care for oneself; Reduced anxiety, grief and isolation; Reduced blood pressure, depression, and risk of heart attack or stroke; Improved willingness to be involved in a therapeutic program or group activity; Increased trust, empathy and teamwork; Greater self-control; Enhanced problem-solving skills; Reduced need for medication; and Improved social skills. Because many children, teens and adults enjoy working with animals, animal-assisted therapy can be particularly beneficial for individuals who are resistant to treatment or have difficulty accessing their emotions or expressing themselves in talk therapy.
What conditions/Disorders does AAT treat? People with a variety of conditions can benefit from animal-assisted therapy, including Autism spectrum disorders; Addiction; Cancer; Heart disease; Dementia; Developmental disorders; Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia; Emotional and behavioral disorders; and Chronic pain. Animal Assisted Therapy includes animals in their intervention to bring about the therapeutic change especially for children with special needs. AAT has shown improved overall emotional well-being, better stress coping, enhanced self-worth and socialization skills in special needs children and other clinical population.
As first step to achieving this goal and to serve larger number of special children and to promoting and create awareness on the concept of AAT in Mangaluru – the first of its kind in Mangaluru, Anirvedha – Resource Centre for Psychological Well-being, Mangaluru, in association with ‘The Paws and Hooves Project from Wag-Ville Bengaluru, ‘Animal Care Trust (ACT)-Mangaluru & ‘Mangaluru Horse Riding Academy’ organized a “Workshop on Animal Assisted Therapy” on April 27, 2019 – Mangaluru, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, at Anirvedha Resource Centre for Psychological Well-being, Kankanady, Mangaluru. The Chief Guest for the programme was Dr. Shishir Kumar, Dept. of Psychiatry, KSHEMA, Mangaluru, while the Resource Person for the workshop was-Mrs. Subhadra Cherukuri, the co-founder of ‘The Paws and Hooves Project from Wag-Ville, Bengaluru’.
The programme began with a prayer by Master Piyush, followed by welcome address and briefing of the workshop by Mrs. K.T. Shwetha, the Director of Anirvedha – Resource Centre for Psychological Well-being, Mangaluru. The programme was inaugurated by lighting of the lamp by the chief guest, along with other dignitaries on the dais, including Charles Paul, trustee of ACT, Mangaluru. In his inaugural address, chief guest Dr Shishir Kumar said, “Animals have benefited human beings during illness, under palliative care, psychological and neurological disorders, children with autism, those have stress, anxiety, depression and other symptoms. Children with autism can communicate well with animals like dogs, horses, cats, rabbits, and even dolphins. Today’s workshop is used to enhance and complement the benefits of traditional therapy. Even though the concept is new to India, it is spreading across all the cities in the nation, so that apart from children with anxiety, animal-assisted therapy or owning a pet among normal children can have a lot of positive developments”.
Charles Paul who also spoke gave an example where his ill mother found comfort from the pet dog they had and made positive developments in her in the time of her illness and loneliness. The formal function ended with vote of thanks by Arjun Shivakumar of Anirvedha, and the programme was compered by Miss Beverly Fernandes, also of Anirvedha. Now it was time for the first session of the workshop handled by resource person Ms Subhadra Cherukuri, where she spoke on Understanding Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI); The application of AAI; The AAT approach – The psychological angle and the physiological angle; Selecting animals for therapy; and presented Videos on AAT -horse and dog. In the second session, after a snack break, the participants experienced a Live Demonstration of AAI with a Dog & Horse, undertaken by Ms Cherukuri.
In Session III around noon time, Resource Person-Mrs. Suma R Nayak, Trustee of ACT, Mangaluru spoke on Animal Welfare and Kindness to Animals; and Harmonious coexistence between animals and Human beings. The workshop concluded with the Distribution of Certificates to the participants, which were in large numbers. Along with the workshop, there was a pet adoption camp, where a bunch of desi pups and kittens were looking forward to a caring and loving home. The ‘STAR ATTRACTIONS” of the workshop were the two labradors, “Bella” (She) and ‘Sooty” (He) who entertained the children/adults with their cute acts/behaviours, truly making them “Man’s Best friends”?
Avinand Achanahally, the founder of Mangalore Horse Riding Academy speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “Horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves- Strong, Powerful, Beautiful and it has the capacity of giving us escape from our mundane existence. Also, Horse Riding improves Physical Fitness; Strengthens, Relieves Stress; Increases level of confidence; and Weight loss and flexibility. Horse riding is recognized as having excellent therapeutic qualities especially for children with special needs. Hippotherapy is the use of horse riding as a therapeutic or rehabilitative treatment, especially as a means of improving coordination, balance, and strength. In this context, MHRA has generously volunteered to be one of the major contributors for this workshop in believing that horses can be magnificent companions for humans with special needs. We realize the effectiveness of animal assistance in therapy, in turn doing its bit for the development of Mental Health Awareness in society. We need support from citizens in our efforts”.
Anirvedha – Resource Centre for Psychological Well-being, Mangaluru:
Anirvedha is a fully fledged centre for psychological assessment, therapy and training. The aim of the organization is to work towards positive mental health. The Anirvedha team’s mission is to help each individual develop to their fullest potential as they commit to responsive and supportive intervention. Anirvedha works with cases associated with Mental Retardation, Autism, Learning Disability, Emotional Issues, Delayed Speech, Slow Learner, Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, ADHD, Developmental Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorders and so on. It is built on the belief that each individual is unique and needs a holistic and progressive approach and AAT is one such platform to explore the much-needed social and emotional development and acquaint themselves with mainstream activities.
