Post by Kelley on Jan 22, 2005 8:56:45 GMT 9.5
Therapy Dogs in the Long-Term Health Care Environment
by Steve Reiman
The Value of Therapy Dogs
"There is no greater therapy than the love of a dog." the sign above my desk proclaims. This animal/human love bond is demonstrated every day in millions of homes around the world. It is also the basis for what is becoming a powerful, common mode of therapy in many long-term health care facilities.
Animals have long been recognized as being a positive force in the healing process. Dogs have a calming and therapeutic effect. They help people cope with the emotional issues related to their illness. They also offer physical contact with another living creature, something that is often missing in an elder's life. They always invoke pleasant memories of past pets. Best of all, they divert a person's attention from the pressing problems of the day. For long-term elders, is it not so much the stress of daily problems, but the boredom, loneliness, and lack of control.
Everyone benefits from the mere presence of these canine health care providers, residents, visitors, and staff. When Therapy Dogs walk the floors of along term facility, it is often a challenge to separate the furry, four-legged therapists from the staff so that they can perform their special magic upon the residents; that’s okay, because therapy dogs provide a much needed break from the routine and stresses of working in a long term facility environment.
Types of Therapy Dogs
There are three types of Therapy Dogs. "Facility Therapy Dogs" and "Animal Assisted Therapy Dogs" assist physical and occupational therapists in meeting goals important to a person's recovery. The most common Therapy Dogs are "Therapeutic Visitation Dogs". These dogs are household pets whose owners take time to visit hospitals, nursing homes, detention facilities, and rehabilitation facilities. Therapeutic Visitation Dogs help people who are away from home due to mental or physical illness or court order. These people miss their pets, and a visit from a visitation dog can brighten their day and lift their spirits. For some, it helps motivate them in their therapy or treatment, reminding them of their own pets waiting for them at home.
Though all three types of therapy dogs serve very important (and unique) functions, this article will focus on Therapeutic Visitation Dogs and the benefits that long term residents derive from such therapy.
Benefits
Through their own zest for life, dogs help people maintain a positive. A positive attitude is key to good health, happiness, and staying young.
Dr. Michael McCulloch, a Portland, Oregon, psychiatrist, and Dr. Samuel Corson, of Ohio State University, are two active researchers and experts on why pets excel as therapeutic agents. The primary reasons McCulloch and Corson cite are an individual's "need to be needed," and "to touch and be touched." Further, Dr. McCulloch states, "Touch is one of our primary needs when we're born and one of our last needs to go." In long-term facilities, residents are often sorely lacking the feeling that they are needed. Pets allow them, even if for a short time, to be nurturers once again. Also, in a very real physical sense, residents can stroke their warm, furry visitors, facilitating social behavior and encouraging physical movement.
Dogs love almost everyone without prejudice and they eliminate the language barrier. One nurse made this comment about a resident after a visit with a Therapy Dog, "She is the calmest I have seen her today. The dogs have tremendously reduced her high anxiety level." Dogs, because of their social natures, often genuinely like people and choose to be around them in addition to their owners/handlers. Often, they are aware of illness and sadness and WANT to provide companionship and comfort; they are both intuitive and compassionate. It is always a joy to see them detect sorrow and watch them lick tears away.
Dogs are an antidote to depression - and an easy pill to take. Life in a long-term care facility can be lonely and boring. A visit from a Therapy Dog can break the daily routine and stimulate the mind in dramatic ways. The most serious problem for older adults is not of disease; it's loneliness. Therapy Dogs and their handlers can make a resident come alive, ultimately, inviting residents back to the world outside the facility in which they live.
In my opinion, older people benefit from pets by:
Bringing joy and laughter to daily life, which in later years is often uneventful
Giving the person something to do, talk about and think about, other than him or herself
Providing a source of touch and affiliation
Heightening self-confidence, esteem, and a sense of achievement
Increasing communication between elderly residents and neighbors
Helping newcomers meet new friends
Boosting overall morale
Stimulating exercise and activity
Helping people cope with illness, loss, and depression.
Lowering stress levels
Encouraging communication
Reminding them of their own pets
by Steve Reiman
The Value of Therapy Dogs
"There is no greater therapy than the love of a dog." the sign above my desk proclaims. This animal/human love bond is demonstrated every day in millions of homes around the world. It is also the basis for what is becoming a powerful, common mode of therapy in many long-term health care facilities.
Animals have long been recognized as being a positive force in the healing process. Dogs have a calming and therapeutic effect. They help people cope with the emotional issues related to their illness. They also offer physical contact with another living creature, something that is often missing in an elder's life. They always invoke pleasant memories of past pets. Best of all, they divert a person's attention from the pressing problems of the day. For long-term elders, is it not so much the stress of daily problems, but the boredom, loneliness, and lack of control.
Everyone benefits from the mere presence of these canine health care providers, residents, visitors, and staff. When Therapy Dogs walk the floors of along term facility, it is often a challenge to separate the furry, four-legged therapists from the staff so that they can perform their special magic upon the residents; that’s okay, because therapy dogs provide a much needed break from the routine and stresses of working in a long term facility environment.
Types of Therapy Dogs
There are three types of Therapy Dogs. "Facility Therapy Dogs" and "Animal Assisted Therapy Dogs" assist physical and occupational therapists in meeting goals important to a person's recovery. The most common Therapy Dogs are "Therapeutic Visitation Dogs". These dogs are household pets whose owners take time to visit hospitals, nursing homes, detention facilities, and rehabilitation facilities. Therapeutic Visitation Dogs help people who are away from home due to mental or physical illness or court order. These people miss their pets, and a visit from a visitation dog can brighten their day and lift their spirits. For some, it helps motivate them in their therapy or treatment, reminding them of their own pets waiting for them at home.
Though all three types of therapy dogs serve very important (and unique) functions, this article will focus on Therapeutic Visitation Dogs and the benefits that long term residents derive from such therapy.
Benefits
Through their own zest for life, dogs help people maintain a positive. A positive attitude is key to good health, happiness, and staying young.
Dr. Michael McCulloch, a Portland, Oregon, psychiatrist, and Dr. Samuel Corson, of Ohio State University, are two active researchers and experts on why pets excel as therapeutic agents. The primary reasons McCulloch and Corson cite are an individual's "need to be needed," and "to touch and be touched." Further, Dr. McCulloch states, "Touch is one of our primary needs when we're born and one of our last needs to go." In long-term facilities, residents are often sorely lacking the feeling that they are needed. Pets allow them, even if for a short time, to be nurturers once again. Also, in a very real physical sense, residents can stroke their warm, furry visitors, facilitating social behavior and encouraging physical movement.
Dogs love almost everyone without prejudice and they eliminate the language barrier. One nurse made this comment about a resident after a visit with a Therapy Dog, "She is the calmest I have seen her today. The dogs have tremendously reduced her high anxiety level." Dogs, because of their social natures, often genuinely like people and choose to be around them in addition to their owners/handlers. Often, they are aware of illness and sadness and WANT to provide companionship and comfort; they are both intuitive and compassionate. It is always a joy to see them detect sorrow and watch them lick tears away.
Dogs are an antidote to depression - and an easy pill to take. Life in a long-term care facility can be lonely and boring. A visit from a Therapy Dog can break the daily routine and stimulate the mind in dramatic ways. The most serious problem for older adults is not of disease; it's loneliness. Therapy Dogs and their handlers can make a resident come alive, ultimately, inviting residents back to the world outside the facility in which they live.
In my opinion, older people benefit from pets by:
Bringing joy and laughter to daily life, which in later years is often uneventful
Giving the person something to do, talk about and think about, other than him or herself
Providing a source of touch and affiliation
Heightening self-confidence, esteem, and a sense of achievement
Increasing communication between elderly residents and neighbors
Helping newcomers meet new friends
Boosting overall morale
Stimulating exercise and activity
Helping people cope with illness, loss, and depression.
Lowering stress levels
Encouraging communication
Reminding them of their own pets