Sometimes small miracles can happen
Carlsbad. Animal-assisted therapies are not a fad, but rather an effective aid, for example in occupational therapy. A key requirement: both the animal and the occupational therapist are specially trained and qualified. “Using a dog in occupational therapy intervention helps to bring patients and clients into a state of relaxation and thus prepare them for targeted treatment; But a dog can also be an icebreaker or open up opportunities that weren’t there before,” explains Anja Junkers, DVE (German Association of Occupational Therapy eV), the meaning of animal-assisted occupational therapy. Like most occupational therapists, she uses dogs to speed up therapy, make it more efficient or provide additional benefits for those affected.
Dogs are increasingly being used as so-called therapy support dogs by occupational therapists, provided the patients and clients agree and like dogs. “It has been scientifically proven that petting, playing and other interactions with dogs down-regulate people’s feelings of stress. At the same time, the hormone oxytocin is released in the brain, which creates a feeling of well-being and increases the ability to concentrate,” explains occupational therapist Anja Junkers about the effect of therapy dogs. Learning, developing behavioral strategies and anchoring new behavioral patterns are inhibited under stress. However, if patients deal with the dog, the previously explained principle of action leads to relaxation and occupational therapy offers can take effect.
Dog yes or no?
Occupational therapists weigh things up carefully
After the first appointments, the occupational therapist considers whether her intervention can be more useful with or without a therapy dog: the anamnesis interview, which deals with the history of the current illness or situation and an assessment. The questions in the assessment are used to find out what is important to patients, what activities they can no longer do due to their illness and what goals they have. The occupational therapist then considers: “What does the person sitting in front of me need – regardless of the diagnosis on their doctor’s prescription – and is involving the dog the best possible approach?” If, after the first introductory appointments, she is of the opinion that the animal-assisted therapy could have a positive effect on her patient, improve the quality of the treatment and make it more effective, she will clarify whether the following appointments can take place in the presence of the dog. Anyone who is ready for animal-assisted occupational therapy should work with their occupational therapist to think about how the dog can accelerate the achievement of the set goals: Is the plan, for example, to go out with the dog, practice riding the subway or go shopping and get through to make the dog more self-confident? Then the intervention can begin – always with the dog at your side.
For the sake of the dog: overcome incapacity
The occupational therapist has already involved her therapy dog in a wide variety of diagnoses. For example, in the case of a patient with a stroke who no longer had any confidence in herself. A (successful) experience with the dog was decisive for her change of heart and the turning point for the therapy. On a bad weather day, the patient, who thought she could no longer manage her own household, had the idea of baking cookies for the dog. After shopping together with the occupational therapist, she baked and was heartily happy about the joy of the dog, who really liked the lovingly made treats. In reflection after the lesson, the patient was very surprised at how easy all the actions had been for her. The fact that she was independent gave her self-confidence a huge boost – a new dynamic came into the therapy. The occupational therapist says: “If the dog acts as a medium, there are no expectations or suggestions. From a hierarchical perspective, the dog is below the human, which means that patients experience themselves as self-effective: they decide from a position of strength and at their own speed what the dog can do for them – or, as in the case of the patient with a stroke, what they can do for him.” .
Dog as a door opener: creating opportunities that otherwise would not exist
For children, going outside with your dog can have unexpected effects. In this context, Junkers reports on one of her palliative children who had moved to a new village. The villagers and all the children kept their distance from the start – they were suspicious of the child in his electric wheelchair with oxygen supply. But the first visit to the playground with the occupational therapist and accompanied by the therapy dog turned the tide: the playing, healthy children wanted to pet the dog and so started talking to the child in the wheelchair, asking what he had and what the dog had does. Through the approach through the dog, friendships emerged that were passed on from the children to the parents. “In this case, the therapy dog broke the ice and enabled the entire family to integrate into the new environment, which would probably not have happened with the presence of a therapist without a dog at the child's side,” the occupational therapist describes how it happened here a small miracle could come.
Thanks to dog: turning point in therapy and new insights into the patient
Another real miracle occurred with a child with autism spectrum disorder who never spoke throughout his life; no communication was possible with the nine-year-old. To try a new approach, a therapy dog came into play and to protect it, the boy had to take off his shoes. To the great astonishment of the therapists present, he began to stroke the dog with his feet; He tapped his knee on the ground in time with the dog's tail movements. After several years of therapy, which was now more or less at a standstill, the dog's presence revealed a way to communicate with him. It was agreed how many times he should knock for “yes” and how many times for “no”. The realization that the autistic boy was using his feet to play and socialize opened the way to beginning a form of play development with him and thereby supporting him through other forms of therapy. He was able to start speech therapy and music therapy.
Further training in animal-assisted occupational therapy: from occupational therapist to occupational therapist
Anja Junkers has developed an overview that she is happy to pass on to participants in her continuing education events. Using this matrix, she can also clarify for herself when using the dog is the right decision. “That is the central question,” she emphasizes. In addition to the information important for occupational therapy intervention and possible approaches, the occupational therapist speaks at her events about the legal aspects that need to be taken into account. It is also about how the dogs are to be trained – that is a fundamental requirement – and what their deployment should look like, including in terms of time. Animal ethical considerations play a major role here, because the use of an animal for work should never be at their expense. After all, the dog is a co-therapist and, in addition to his job as such, should also have enough time to pursue his main task: being a dog. Only if he is as relaxed and happy as he makes the patients relaxed and happy will animal-assisted occupational therapy with dogs be a complete success.
Information material on the diverse topics of occupational therapy is available from the occupational therapists on site; Occupational therapists near your home at dve.info/service/therapeutens uche.