Thankfully, the topic of emotional and mental health and wellbeing is finally beginning to receive the attention, action and discussion it has always both deserved and needed.
With this breaking of taboo, a welcome and fascinating surge in new, innovative and groundbreaking therapies has revolutionized the world of psychology and psychotherapy, with animal therapy being one of the most exciting and effective.
Continue reading to discover the far-reaching and frankly amazing benefits of animal therapy.
Animal Therapy Explained
Essentially, animal therapy and sometimes alternatively referred to as pet therapy, is a way to help people from all walks of life and from all manner of situations to recover from mental or physical health conditions.
Animal therapy centers on the deep, far-reaching and frankly incredible connection and bond between humans and animals with all types of species being involved from dogs, cats and rabbits to birds and even the humble goldfish.
The Incredible Benefits of Animal Therapy
Animal therapy provides the individual companionship and welcome social interactions, an overall improvement in well-being and a reason to become more physically active.
Numerous studies have proven animal therapy to be incredibly effective in the reduction of stress and anxiety in people of all ages and also can help people with memory-based illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia to feel more calm, peaceful and centered.
Animal therapy can also decrease behavioral problems in children and adolescents, touch both children and adults on an emotional and psychological level and provide a living being that offers no judgements or preconceptions whatsoever.
Who Can Animal Therapy Help?
Animal therapy is for everyone and can be accessed either via professional channels or else on your own volition, or even on behalf of someone else.
If your aging parent or other family member has recently made the move to senior living facilities, for example, enabling them to interact and form a bond with an older dog or cat would add a new level of excitement and interaction. Additionally, reputable, renowned and established senior living facilities, such as Maryland senior living, will be happy to arrange animal visits with their local shelter and it may even be possible for your loved one to adopt the animal on a full-time basis.
Adopting An Animal
On a wider basis, animal therapy is a practice that anyone can implement themselves and can do so entirely on their own terms.
Depending on your own lifestyle and both your professional and personal commitments, adopting an animal from your local shelter will enrich and enhance your life beyond anything you could imagine.
Alternatively, if your current work and lifestyle makes it impractical to take care of one or more animals on a full-time basis, you could consider volunteering at your local shelter for just a few hours a week. This way, you are not only experiencing the myriad of benefits to being around animals, but are also helping to keep unwanted, abandoned and mistreated animals to give them a better quality of life.
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