Are you somebody who prefers the company of animals? The warmth and comfort that comes from an animal resting its head on your knee or even just sitting nearby can express feelings that words often fail to capture. Animals have a special ability for connecting with us, particularly during tough emotional moments.
Navigating these tough times and taking care of your well-being goes beyond seeking medical assistance; it involves nurturing your mind, body, and spirit. One way to take care of mental well-being is through a therapeutic method that’s growing in popularity known as animal assisted therapy (AAT). There is also animal assisted play therapy® (AAPT®) available to children, teens, and adults.
Let’s explore why this form of therapy works so well for some people, the benefits of animal assisted therapy, and what you need to know if you’re considering this option for you and your child’s mental health needs and goals.
What is Animal Assisted Therapy?
AAT is a type of therapy where teens, adults, and children work alongside both the therapist and an animal as part of the healing process. It’s a three-way interaction that combines different therapeutic methods and activities with animals to help clients tackle physical, behavioural, and emotional struggles.
The core idea of AAT is that animals can offer emotional support, lower stress levels, and help people feel more connected and relaxed. AAT effectively addresses a variety of mental health behaviours and conditions, including but not limited to:
- Reducing anxiety
- Improving emotional support and regulation
- Building healthy relationship and communication skills
- Trauma
- Grief and loss
- Developmental disorders, such as ADHD
Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy
Animal assisted therapy offers a ton of advantages during the healing process of mental health struggles. Here are a few of them, though this isn’t an extensive list:
Lowers Stress and Anxiety
Even simply petting an animal can help decrease stress hormones like cortisol. Research indicates that spending time with animals can lower blood pressure and heart rate, which are indicators of reduced anxiety.
Enhances Social Interaction
For those dealing with social anxiety or depression, animal-assisted therapy promotes interaction. Pets provide companionship without any judgment, making it simpler for individuals to start conversations and connect with others.
Elevates Mood
Interacting with animals boosts the production of serotonin and dopamine, the chemicals linked to happiness and well-being. Animal-assisted therapy can be especially beneficial for individuals facing depression by lifting their overall mood.
Offers Emotional Support
Animals provide unconditional love and acceptance, which can be a source of comfort for those who feel isolated or overwhelmed by their feelings. This emotional connection can significantly aid a client’s mental health recovery.
What is Animal Assisted Play Therapy® (AAPT®)?
Animal Assisted Play Therapy® (AAPT®) involves play-based sessions led by a trained therapist who works alongside both the client and a therapy animal. It can be used in child, teen, and even family therapy, and is appropriate for clients of all ages.
AAPT® may include structured activities, where the therapist guides the client in interacting with the animal—such as teaching new tricks or navigating obstacle courses together. It can also include non-directive play therapy, where the client (most often a child) leads the play and assigns roles to the therapy animal within their imaginative world. For example, in a good vs. bad theme, a child might decide the dog is a police dog who saves the day. The therapist observes and supports the process, stepping in when appropriate to facilitate insight, emotional expression, and therapeutic growth.
AAPT® can be beneficial in many ways, such as boosting self-esteem, fostering empathy, managing emotions, establishing healthy boundaries, enhancing frustration tolerance, and addressing attachment issues. It usually involves a lot of relationship-building, creativity, playfulness, and, of course, fun.
AAPT® is all about the process. Any unexpected moments during interactions are integrated into the session, ensuring that both client and the therapy animal’s needs are addressed. While sessions may target specific tasks or goals, like teaching a new trick, the journey to get there is far more important than hitting any single target. I can guide and use this process to help children and families tackle their challenges or learn new skills. Currently, I hold my level 1 in AAPT® and will finish my level 2 in April 2026.
Benefits of Animal Assisted Play Therapy®
By engaging in play sessions with our therapy dog Canelo, children, teens, and families can:
Build Trust and Communication
Animals create a judgment-free zone where kids and teens feel at ease expressing themselves, which helps them develop vital communication skills. For instance, kids can practice sharing their thoughts and feelings while playing with the dog; in such cases, the dog is a perfect non-judgmental participant.
Reduce Stress and Anxiety
Spending time with an animal can help lower stress and anxiety, boosting emotional well-being. This is especially helpful for kids who feel anxious about attending therapy and expressing their thoughts and feelings.
Improve Social Skills
Interacting with animals fosters empathy, compassion, and cooperation, leading to healthier relationships with peers and family. Kids can learn to read the dog’s responses to social cues, communicate those observations to their therapist, and react appropriately to the feedback from the animal.
Boost Self-Esteem
Reaching little goals in play therapy can really lift a child’s confidence and give them a feeling of achievement. For instance, when a child successfully teaches a therapy dog to do certain tricks on cue.
Build Coping Skills
Kids and teens pick up important coping strategies while facing challenges with their furry friends. This also helps them deal with their emotions, especially if the dog doesn’t always react as excitedly as they wish and helps them apply that understanding to their social interactions overall.
A Therapy That’s Beneficial for All Ages
Animal assisted therapy is an amazing way to boost mental health. It’s not just for kids; it works wonders for folks of all ages. The emotional support and comfort that pets provide can really enhance a person’s well-being. This type of therapy helps ease anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges while promoting social interaction and lifting overall spirits. For many, companionship and unconditional love from therapy animals are essential for a happier, healthier life.
Since both AAT and AAPT® focus on the bond between humans and animals, it’s crucial to keep in mind that, similar to us, dogs have their own desires and requirements. Just like we expect others to honour our personal space, we must also acknowledge our therapy animal’s right to decide when and how they want to engage in sessions.
The needs of both humans and animals are treated with equal importance. Therapy animals are trained using positive reinforcement, play, and relationship-building techniques. Just as a therapy animal learns to behave kindly and respectfully with children, kids also learn to treat the therapy animal with kindness and respect.
At Supportive Steps, our therapy dog Canelo is treated with respect and he makes the decisions on what he wants to do during sessions, whether it’s playing with clients or simply sitting in the same space as them.
If you or your child would like to discover the benefits of animal assisted therapy yourselves, feel free to reach out to me today. I’m available for initial consultations. Book a free 15-minute consultation here.