Animal-Assisted Therapy with Dogs (PDF)

Animal-assisted therapy has been the talk of the town for several years and is increasingly being integrated into the psychotherapeutic treatment of people. But how exactly can dogs support psychotherapeutic work? How can animal welfare and human welfare be combined? Which dogs are suitable and how are they prepared?

This book provides a practical and lively insight into therapeutic work with dogs. In addition to an overview of the basics as well as animal welfare and ethical aspects of dog-assisted therapy, concrete exercises in the context of dog-assisted self-confidence training are described pictorially and by video, providing inspiration for therapeutic work in various institutions and situations.

The content

• Animal-assisted therapy in general (definition, history of development, effective factors, controversies and currents)
• Animal ethics
• Conception of a good animal-assisted therapy, including selectionof the dog and training, exercises, etc.
• Presentation of a dog-assisted self-confidence training with concrete exercises and examples

The target groups

Psychotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists as well as practitioners

The author

Katharina Blesch holds a degree in psychology and works with a focus on animal-assisted therapy at an acute clinic for psychosomatics and psychiatry. She studied psychology at the University of Heidelberg, as well as animal-assisted therapy at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, and has various additional qualifications in training and behavioral therapy for different animal species. She is active in animal welfare and is a part-time lecturer.

The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.