Elsa, a Newfoundland dog

NMSU Counseling Center

Animal-Assisted Therapy Program (AAT)
with Elsa 

For centuries, humans have sought and promoted healing practices that incorporated human-animal interactions.  More recently, mental health and medical fields are incorporating human-animal interactions in therapeutic settings because of the positive, healing effects of these exchanges.  Research is indicating that interactions between humans and animals (companion, farm, or wildlife) may impact medical health, disease status and psychological functioning and well-being.   

 

 

Possible benefits associated with human-animal interactions

    --Increased survival rates of heart patients
    --Lowering of physiological arousal levels by decreasing blood pressure and heart rate
    --Lessening of symptoms associated with stress, anxiety and depression
    --Enhance a sense of self-esteem, confidence, emotional security and safety
    --Provide comfort and acceptance and increase the expression of compassion and empathy
    --Enhance quality of life through increasing social interactions and decreasing isolation and loneliness
    --Improve psychological and physical health through nonthreatening touch
    --Decrease “loneliness of spirit” (Chief Sealth, 1975) by building ties between humans, animals, and nature

Because of the potential for positive effects from human-animal interactions, the New Mexico State University Counseling Center has initiated an animal-assisted therapy program.  We have discovered that the presence of a companion animal can serve as a means of decreasing stress, anxiety, and arousal levels in certain clients.  Given that 58.9% of American families have companion animals in the home, the therapy animals seem to help create a warm and more home-like atmosphere in the Center.  A companion animal present in a session could provide opportunities for interested clients to receive comfort, support, and acceptance as well as a sense of emotional safety while receiving psychological services.   

For interested clients, the presence of a certified therapy animal could serve as an adjunct to the traditional therapy approaches utilized by a staff psychologist or counselor.    The certified therapy animal could be a dog, cat, bird, rabbit, or other domesticated animal. 

All psychologists and counselors, who utilize animal-assisted therapy as an adjunct to their clinical work, have been trained, evaluated, and certified by Delta Society as a handler-therapy animal team.  This means that the animals are well trained, skilled, and have appropriate temperaments for such therapy work as well as having had regularly scheduled health screenings by a veterinarian.  The psychologist or counselor has been educated or trained in the integration of human-animal interactions in the clinical setting and is attentive to the safety and well-being of the client, therapy animal, and themselves as handlers. 

At New Mexico State University, the Pet Partner Team members are Elsa, a Newfoundland, and her handler, Dr. Karen Schaefer, psychologist.  If you would like to have AAT incorporated in your therapy services through our Center, please let the receptionist know of your interest so you might be scheduled with a participating counselor or psychologist.  Should you have any further questions about the animal assisted therapy program through the Center, please feel free to contact the Director of the Center, John Irvine, Ed.D. or Karen Schaefer, Ph.D.