Tag Archives: animal assisted therapy

Working with Animals in Practice – Terminology

Posted by: Eileen Bona on March 30, 2020 3:15 pm
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The last article “Working with Animals in Practice” provided an overview of the important ethical considerations for including animals in professional practice. These considerations apply to including animals into any workspace or public setting where the animal and people can be negatively impacted if the practice is not informed or thoughtfully prepared.

This article will provide details on the terminology in animal assisted practices. The first point mentioned in the last article was: Understanding the many terms in the field to determine where your particular practice, skills and knowledge might fit. This information can also be helpful for you to discern any training you or your animal partner may need to work in your particular domain.

Working with animals therapeutically has many names and is done in many different ways. As the field is not yet standardized in Canada, it can be confusing trying to understand all the different kinds of animal-related work and what you might need to practice effectively. Other places in North America and the world have been incorporating animals into healing and learning practices for far longer than here in Canada and as a result, there are some commonly agreed-upon terms including:

Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs)

“(AAIs) are therapeutic processes that intentionally include or involve (certified) animals as part of the therapeutic process. Animal-Assisted Therapy, Animal-Assisted Activities, and service animals are some examples of animal assisted interventions.”  Fine (2006)

AAI is an umbrella term for all aspects of involving animals to facilitate or enhance human health and learning. Every other term for working with animals to help people in any capacity falls under this term.

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)

“AAT is a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT is directed and/or delivered by a health/human service professional with specialized training and expertise in AAT and within the scope of practice of his/her profession.” –Pet Partners

 Key Features of AAT

  • A certified animal is included to enhance or facilitate the therapy process.
  • There are specified goals and objectives for each individual.
  • A qualified professional, trained and certified in AAT, is involved in the animal interactions for a specific purpose.
  • Progress is measured.

Examples of Goals of AAT Programs:

The following are some examples of AAT goals:

  • Physical Health – Improve fine motor skills, balance
  • Mental Health and Cognitive Ability – Increase self-esteem, reduce anxiety, increase attention skills, process traumatic events
  • Social Skills – Increase verbal interactions, develop leisure skills
  • Developing and increasing Empathy

Animal Assisted Education and/or Learning (AAE/L)

AAE/L incorporates animals into the learning environment.  The certified, trained animal in educational settings is either the subject of the lesson plan to facilitate the learning or is included to enhance the environment for learning to take place.

 Key Features of AAE/L

  • A certified animal is included to enhance or facilitate the learning process.
  • Educators, aides or knowledgeable volunteers are trained in AAE/L and conduct the sessions.
  • Educational content is planned and can be within or outside the classroom environment.

Examples of AAE/L

  •  Reading Assistance programs where certified animals are present as motivators and read to by people who are reading-challenged.

Animal Assisted Activities (AAA)

“AAA provides opportunities for motivational, educational, recreational, and/or therapeutic benefits to enhance quality of life. AAA are delivered in a variety of environments by specially trained professionals, paraprofessionals, and/or volunteers, in association with animals that meet specific criteria.” Pet Partners

What does this mean?
AAA are basically the casual “meet and greet” activities that involve animals visiting people. There are not typically any particular or measurable goals and the “visit” does not have to be carried out by a qualified professional. This is often referred to as “Pet Visitation.” The term “Pet Therapy” is outdated. The animal is certified for this work.

Key Features of AAA

  • Treatment goals are not planned for each visit.
  • The animal is certified for its work.
  • The animal handler is certified for this work.
  • Visit content is spontaneous and visits last as long or as short as needed.

Examples of AAA:

  • Volunteers certified in AAA take their certified animals to a nursing home once a month to “visit.” No formal goals are expected to be reached.

Animal Assisted Crisis Response (AACR)

“AAC) gives…trained professionals an additional means with which to help people affected by crisis. AACR teams can be used to establish rapport, build therapeutic bridges, normalize the experience, and act as … a catalyst for physical movement.” Greenbaum, S.D. (2006).

What does this mean?
AACR involves professionals trained both in crisis response and AACR. They work alongside certified therapy animals to relieve stress and build bridges between them and the people they are attempting to help.

 Key Features of AACR

  • Specific treatment goals are not planned for each visit.
  • The overall intent is to help people at the moment of crisis and to alleviate the side effects of crisis.
  • AACR professionals are cross trained in crisis protocols and animal assisted methods.
  • Animals are screened, trained and certified to do this work in a variety of crisis situations.

Example of AACR:

  • A person is rescued from a burning house and is too traumatized to respond to questions of whether or not there is anyone else in the house. The AACR specialist, with the help of the certified dog, assists the survivor of the fire to become de-escalated and lucid enough to tell the firefighters if anyone else was in the house.

These are the most common terms for working with animals in the helping profession including mini horses. When working with ponies, full-sized horses, donkeys or mules, the terminology is equine specific. We will discuss equine-facilitated terminology in the next blog!

Do you know what you’re working title is? If you have any questions or comments, please leave them here and a response will be provided.

Eileen Bona
Registered Psychologist
Animal Assisted Therapist
CEO/Clinical Director/Executive Director/Founder of Dreamcatcher Nature Assisted Therapy
www.dreamcatcherassociation.com



*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Working with Animals in Practice

Posted by: Eileen Bona on February 26, 2020 10:26 am
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Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs) are interventions which are based upon the belief that interactions with animals have inherent value for humans on behavioural, cognitive, emotional, physical, psychological, relational and spiritual levels. AAI’s are intended to be carried out by qualified helping professionals who are trained animal handlers working with specially screened, trained and certified animals.

Although there is evidence to support the benefits of partnering with animals in all ways aforementioned and in doing Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) as a formal medium of therapeutic intervention, there is no standard code of practice in Canada.

As a psychologist who has been working in the field of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) for nearly 17 years, I am excited by the momentum AAT is experiencing in Canada. I am contacted daily by Canadians who are exploring the intricacies of integrating animals into their practice and am aware of the current and interested practitioners.

There are several important ethical considerations for including animals in practice and they include the following:

  • Understanding the many terms in the field to determine where your particular practice, skills and knowledge might fit.
  • Staying within your scope of practice.  As many people are attracted to animals in practice, often practitioners are requested to work with those who may not fit into their scope.
  • Researching and attaining thorough training and certification as an animal assisted therapist. Certificates in AAI/T are available at the college level in some provinces in Canada (i.e., Alberta and Quebec) or training and arranging consultation with a credentialed, well known and ethical AAT professional.
  • Ensuring your animal has been screened, tested and certified to work with you in your setting and with your population. Animals have preferences and ‘scopes of practice’ too and these should be discerned before the animal is integrated into practice.
  • Consultations and training with skilled and trustworthy animal trainers or animal behavioral specialists who are cross-trained in AAT are vital to your animal being well prepared for its work and for you as the animal’s handler to be trained in understanding your animal’s communication and stress signals.
  • Garnering advice about working animals’ schedules and the ratio of client/animal interactions is important to the health and well being of the animal and can be attained from these professionals or the AAT professional.
  • Having a regular veterinarian who is knowledgeable about AAT, understands your species/breed and can advise on changes your animal may be experiencing is invaluable for your AAT animal’s health and welfare.
  • It is often necessary to have extended insurance coverage (alongside professional liability insurance) when involving animals in practice. Determining whether both the practitioner and the facility require insurance for the AAT is necessary.
  • Providing a waiver to participants is recommended to ensure fully informed consent for participation in AAT. The waiver should provide details of the AAT as well as a release of reliability for the therapist in the event of any unfortunate events that may occur during the AAT. The waiver requires the signature of the participant or guardians of minors.

It is an exciting time in our AAT field and I look forward to the promise of soon having approved guidelines to direct our practices and one day, a thorough Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics to govern us. Stay tuned for more-detailed Emergent Guidelines for Animals in Practice. In the meantime, I hope this information is helpful.

Eileen Bona
Registered Psychologist
Animal Assisted Therapist
CEO and Executive Director of Dreamcatcher Nature Assisted Therapy
www.dreamcatcherassociation.com



*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Appearing on Network Television: Are You Ready for Your 15 Minutes of Fame?

Posted by: Doc Warren on December 13, 2019 10:45 am
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At some point in your career you will likely be contacted by the media. They may ask you to give a professional opinion on a topic they are covering or they may have an interest in the place that you work, the population you serve or even in you and your career. Whatever the reason, there are some considerations that should come into play before saying yes. What follows serves not as a comprehensive nor exhaustive look, but as more of a primer on preparing for what is often considered your “15 minutes of fame.”

Over my career, I have been honored to have been able to help promote our profession in several mediums ranging from television, radio, newspapers, magazines, text books and the internet. In some cases I was little more than filler, providing a few lines of professional opinion for a much broader topic. At others I was the main focus. No matter your role, it is important, even when the only reason the reporter is talking to you is because their focus cannot speak for themselves (like when they were covering a therapeutic animal in my office but alas, Helen, the dog could not talk so they asked me. If I remember correctly, it was my arm that made the front page, wrapped around Helen).

Some folks will decline any type of interviews for their entire careers, and there is nothing wrong with that at all. Who wouldn’t want to keep a low profile, do their job and go home? There is much to be said for that. For those who find themselves faced with the decision and are inclined to say yes, consider the following:

What’s your message?
Though the reporter will have their agenda and will serve as a guide for the interview, it is important to know what you want to say, how you want to be portrayed and the overall tone you would like the interview to have. This does not mean that you should stick dogmatically to your original agenda: a certain amount of give is often needed as the interview may take a surprise turn, but have a general idea of what you want your overall message to be.

What are your goals?
After saying yes, what is it that you hope will be accomplished in the interview? Is it realistic? Do they align with the goals of the reporter? Have you discussed them with the reporter? Doing what you can to make sure that there are shared goals can save one from awkward moments when the cameras are rolling. It’s very important to remember that no matter what you say, unless you are on live tv, the editor will decide what makes the final cut. This again underscores the need to mesh your goals and expectations with the reality of what the reporter is looking for. For the most part, put trust in the news-team to do a good job. If you do not trust that they will do so, decline the interview and move on.

Preparing mentally
Most “bad” interviews that I’ve seen are often rooted in a lack of mental preparation or focus. Though there will be varying numbers of viewers depending on whether or not you are doing public, local, state, national or international programming, try to focus on the interviewer and not worry about the viewership. Obsessing about the ratings, number of views and related issues tend to mostly lead to undue stress and possible anxiety attacks. Many times when folks freeze on air it has so much to do with them being psyched out by the thoughts of all the people watching them. Try to clear that from your mind and focus only on those before you. Try to think of the camera as an old friend.

When preparing for the interview, remember your goals, desired message and the approximate time they have given you for the interview. Handle the interview with the same calmness that you would have when conducting a session with a new client.

Preparing the office
If your interview will be done in the studio, there is nothing that needs to be done in terms of office prep; but when the crew comes to you and your office, that changes things considerably. When doing an office-based interview it is advisable to clear the amount of time that the interviewer has estimated. On a recent interview, the producer estimated that the interview and B Roll (extra filming for filler or to do voice over work with) would take no more than 30 minutes. Once they got on scene and asked a few questions, they pleasantly discovered a much bigger story. Two hours later I needed to hold a session and they had not yet filmed their originally planned footage. Thankfully, what they needed to film was out of the office and in part of the 50 acres that surrounds it.

When a film crew is present it is best not to have clients around so as to avoid any potential privacy violations. Also be sure not to have any charts or other medical records in view.

Some folks will want to stage their offices prior to the interview, others will just make sure it has had a good cleaning, there really is no wrong answer.

How to dress
Depending on the type of interview, you would likely either dress much like you would for a typical work day, or perhaps dress more “corporate.” Dress according to how you want to be portrayed. It is not uncommon to see one dressed in a “smart” suit or similar fashion but many exceptions exist.

Setting boundaries
Don’t be afraid to say no to a reporter, producer or other member of the crew should they ask you to do something that you feel uncomfortable with. This includes saying no to the whole interview if the timing, location, topic or whatever feels wrong.

Protecting client privacy
Your clients deserve respect and the law and code of ethics demands that their privacy be protected at all costs. Be sure to read, understand and follow the laws and codes of ethics related to client\patient privacy. Avoid giving details of any actual client that could potentially lead to their identification. Do not have any identified clients with you as part of an interview and keep all notes, charts or other documents out of the area where the film crew may have access. This applies even when you have a high-profile client or clients that the news community would be very interested in. Do not risk your career for a chance at a few minutes of fame.

Getting over yourself
Ok, your segment has been filmed and edited and is about to go on the air, the teasers (promotional commercials) are in rotation on the network and folks are starting to notice and contact you. It is fine to acknowledge the upcoming interview and to share the promos and information but remember to keep things in perspective.

As the segment(s) air there will likely be an increase in calls, emails and social media response. There may be many messages of praise and some level of fanfare. There could also be a fair share of skeptics or naysayers as well. It is best not to tie your self-esteem to your public standing. There may be some hype surrounding the event but it will die down in short order. Remember who you are, what you do and stay grounded. You are no better than you were prior to the interview and soon enough, folks will have moved on to the next big thing. Acting superior now will likely just help kill any positive vibe the press gave you in the first place.

Case Study:
A short while ago I was contacted by the Today Show to offer an expert opinion on a story they were covering for their site. They found me after an internet search for professionals associated with the topic. After a brief exploration of the story, message, goals and related issues we agreed on a day and time to conduct the interview via telephonic means. The interview took place and a day or two later it went live internationally. NBC Universal cross-promoted the story and soon I found that several people who had seen the story but had not read it yet had forwarded it to me as they thought I may have found it of interest. I also shared it on social media and mentioned that I was in it. I then went to work doing my normal client load and farm chores.

A matter of days later NBC Connecticut contacted me about doing a story about the program that I founded and run in Connecticut. They had read the story and my part of it and thought it could be of interest to Connecticut viewers. We explored the items as described above and I set aside four chunks of time that they felt they would need for filming. I cleaned my office and made sure no clients would be scheduled at the office for any of our other clinicians as well during that time.

As our program was the focus, I decided to dress much like I normally do for work as I wanted to appear genuine. My wife did buy me a new Carhartt Tshirt because she felt some of my daily shirts would not look great on television, but otherwise I wore what I often do, right down to my New Balance sneakers and cowboy hat.

As the B Roll was being filmed and small talk between the news anchor and myself took place, there seemed to be a change in both scope and direction of the piece. Though I was prepared to discuss the programming and only a bit about myself, once the cameras were rolling for the formal interview I found that much of the interview focused directly on me and the program itself was second. As the news anchor remained in due bounds, we continued and I followed her lead as she had my full trust and respect.

Two hours into the process, they had not filmed the animal sanctuary that I thought was going to be the main focus of the spot. Having to get back to work, they filmed the animal spot without me (they were well aware of the fact that privacy was paramount and did not attempt to film any client that may have come to the property).

In the end, the minute or two segment that I had planned for turned into a day or so of teasers followed by in studio conversations by the entire news team and two segments in the morning. The evening news team had their own conversations and a single but expanded version of the interview was played. I had no idea what would be in it until I watched it on TV. My wife, also a clinician and member of our clinical team, was interviewed as well and my son Warren IV was shown and discussed. We could not have written a better PR piece if we had tried.

The morning it aired I decided to watch it, something I rarely do as I view interviews as part of the job, something to do, move on and forget about. I was glad that I did. I was super impressed by the quality of the piece and how they treated our program. I then got out of bed, cleaned the drain in the tub, got ready for work as normal, meaning a full round of sessions intermixed with farm chores.

We shared the links on social media and gave them to our website tech to have them embedded as soon as we could. Otherwise, it was business as usual, with the exception of the increased requests for services that often come with media attention.

Days later a different network requested an interview but we declined. It was felt that the timing was wrong, the set up was too rushed and there was concern that the producer did not fully understand or respect the need for privacy for our clients. Though we respect the team, we could not in good conscience do the interview under their terms.

The experiences were good, the added attention for our program was better than an expensive ad campaign, but in the end, we remain the same people and the same program as before. No better, no worse. It is after all just part of the job…

So there you have it, sometimes you become the story. Do your best and move forward. I’m rooting for you!

Links to the original article and one of the interviews:

Other clips may be available at www.docwarren.org by the time this is published.

Be sage, do good

-Doc Warren

“Doc Warren” Corson III is a counselor, educator, writer and the founder, developer, clinical & executive director of Community Counseling of Central CT Inc. (www.docwarren.org) and Pillwillop Therapeutic Farm (www.pillwillop.org). He is internationally certified as a Counsellor and Counsellor Supervisor in the USA and Canada (C.C.C., C.C.C.-S, NCC, ACS). He can be contacted at [email protected]  His program has also been featured on NBC https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/A-Happy-Place-Wolcott-Therapeutic-Farm-Redefining-Mental-Health-Care-563389381.html



*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Animals in Schools

Posted by: Derek Collins on September 20, 2019 11:28 am
1 Reply

Part of our mission at Vermilion Outreach School is to create a safe place for our students. Vermilion Outreach is an alternative school for students who have not had success in a regular program. Many of our students find it difficult to focus on their work; this may be for personal reasons or academic difficulty. As the principal and counsellor, I am constantly looking for strategies that would allow the students to overcome some of these barriers. I knew other outreach programs that had a school pet program but it was not something I thought I was ready for. That is until my own dog, Kona, needed to wait somewhere for her veterinarian appointment. With no other options available I brought her to school.

The effect on the students was immediately apparent to  the staff and me. Kona, an older miniature schnauzer-poodle cross, would trot to the door and greet everyone. She would then continue to walk around the school stopping at different locations where a hand would reach down and give a scratch or a pat. Some students would try to get her to jump into their lap, although Kona was not quite ready for that. But she loved the attention. Work only stopped briefly as she walked by but often the students would continue to read or work on an assignment as they gave Kona some attention.

There have been studies on the success of animal-assisted interventions. A systemic review of animal-assisted interventions found that there are some positives for students when dogs are in classrooms. Animals appear to be buffers to psycho-social stress. Classrooms reported that there was an improvement in motivation, focus and a sense of well-being. (Brelsford, Meints, Gee, Pfeffer, 2017)

The most impactful moment for me was when Kona helped me make a connection with a student. I noticed that a relatively new student to our school left her desk and headed to one of the side rooms. I gave the student a few minutes of quiet time before I knocked on the door. The student was crying and I offered to listen. The student nodded, I sat down, but the words were not coming. I tried to be patient. We heard scratching at the door.

“Is it okay if Kona comes in?” I asked. The student nodded. Kona strode into the room and looked up at the student. Then suddenly, she jumped up into her lap.

“You don’t have to hold her if you don’t want to,” I reminded the student, both of us a bit surprised.

“It’s okay,” the student answered. She started talking while petting the dog. Somehow Kona knew she was needed. Her presence gave that student something to focus on while she told her story. That event led to many other sessions.

I encourage other programs to consider a school dog or pet and I would love to hear stories and share ideas.

Brelsford VL, Meints K, Gee NR, Pfeffer K. Animal-Assisted Interventions in the Classroom-A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(7):669. Published 2017 Jun 22. doi:10.3390/ijerph14070669



*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA