Animal-Assisted Therapy

This type of therapy provides a wide range of benefits, including:

• Increased self-esteem
• Better empathy
• Improved mental health
• Personal and social development

Interacting with animals is associated with many benefits, including reduced blood pressure, changes in your body’s stress responses, increased physical activity, and lower cholesterol. Even simple things like petting a cat for a few minutes release calming chemicals in the body that reduce your blood pressure.

A report from 2011 indicated that 60% of hospice care providers used pet therapy as an alternative therapy. Animal-assisted therapy has been shown to help people with PTSD, ADHD, schizophrenia, and even addiction. One study used horses as their animal assistance therapy for people with dementia, and it found that interactions with horses had positive results, reducing negative behavior and improving moods.

Animal-assisted therapy has recently been used to treat substance use disorders. In particular, this can involve having an animal present during therapy to help reduce anxiety and form a more trusting relationship between you and your therapist. Animal-assisted therapy in south Florida can also extend to horseback riding, playing with dogs or walking dogs, and caring for a service animal. 

Animal assistance therapy helps with recovery by improving mood, bolstering communication skills and social skills, and increasing your confidence. There is often a lot of unprocessed trauma, mental health disorders, or emotional struggles during addiction recovery. Animals can help you remain mindful of your emotions in real-time so that you aren’t overwhelmed by them.

Other studies found that adults who used animal-assisted therapy during recovery required 50% less pain medication. When applied to recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, this same type of therapy can be integrated into your rehab program to help you require less medication immediately following things like detox and teach you to better manage or cope with the pain and struggle that follows. 

Animal-assisted therapy is not meant to replace things like pain management medication or individual psychotherapy as part of your rehab. Instead, it’s meant to be one part of your overarching plan. Medications might help you manage previously undiagnosed mental health conditions like depression, but at the same time, using animal-assisted therapy can trigger a multitude of benefits that reduces the amount of medication you require.

If you struggle with mental health disorders in addition to your substance abuse, engaging with an animal and caring for an animal can help you process part of those symptoms. People who struggle with things like anxiety and mood disorders can enjoy increased recovery outcomes by redirecting anxiety loops in their brains through interactions with animals. People who have survived things like assault can reorient their minds toward mutually beneficial and healthy physical interactions.