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When animals help in psychiatry - dogs can open our hearts
Dogs are often referred to as the "best friend of man". They can sense human emotions and have healing effects on the psyche. The animals have long been used as detection, rescue or guide dogs. In addition, there are now more often therapy dogs that help in psychiatry.
Dogs as helpers in psychiatry
Because animals seem to have healing effects on the human psyche, in addition to detection and rescue dogs, more and more therapy dogs are establishing themselves. The animal therapists help with drug treatment, for example, and also in depression, the animal-assisted therapy has been widespread for years. Dogs are now found in many facilities that help patients in psychiatry. Also in the Tübingen University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, where animal-assisted therapy is offered as an innovative form of treatment when working with patients.
The use of dogs in psychiatry has proven itself many times. (Image: Antje Lindert-Rottke / fotolia.com) Animals conjure a smile in the patient's faces
The two dogs in the Tübingen clinic are called Jasper and Faye, two real cuddly magnets. Hardly any patient can escape the charm of chihuahuas hurrying across the hospital corridors. The little dogs make people smile, they are petted and they are petted by the fur. As the news agency dpa reports, the animal duo has a responsible task: Jasper and Faye, who are now more or less part of the staff of psychiatry, are supposed to put a smile on people's faces. The two Labradoodle Layla and Keegan also belong to the helpers on four paws in the Tübingen clinic. Although such four-legged therapy companions are still the exception, more and more therapists, educators, clinics, homes and schools in Germany use animal-assisted therapies.
Especially seriously ill people seek contact with dogs
As the University Hospital Tübingen explained in an earlier communication, the idea goes back to the nurses Alfred Mollenhauer (59) and Stefanie Köhler (31), to which the animals belong. "The dogs are real icebreakers. They can build a bridge that makes it easier for us to access the patients, "said Mollenhauer. He explained that it all started when he took his dog with him on a patient outing. "We observed that the seriously ill patients in particular were able to seek contact with the animal while allowing a relationship." Since then, patients have been able to play with the animals, pet them or just watch them on the ward. As nurse Köhler pointed out, every patient can decide for himself whether and how much contact he allows. "If I bring the dogs to the station, then this is always a highlight for everyone involved." The four-legged friends loosen up the daily routine of the clinic with its otherwise firm structures.
Allow closeness and build trust
Rainer Wohlfarth, President of the European Society for Animal Assisted Therapy, explained in the dpa report: "Animals help in a therapeutic process, in particular, by facilitating communication, reduce anxiety and stress, increase well-being and increase motivation." Especially people with autism, mental retardation or dementia, but also patients who can not talk about trauma, thus benefited from animal-assisted therapies. "Animals are unbiased, they do not care about physical or mental blemishes and accept a person as it is," says Wohlfarth. According to experts, this animal neutrality is a high good because diseases are often associated with stigmatization. According to the caretakers, the dogs especially facilitate access to people with serious illnesses. Depressed, suicidal or schizophrenic patients would learn to allow closeness and build trust.
"Getting people out of isolation and loneliness"
"Dogs can open hearts and bring people out of isolation and loneliness," explained the nurse in a Vivantes hospital in Berlin, Sabine Hahn. For years, the hospital group has been using therapy dogs for the treatment of psychiatric and geriatric patients. "Patients feel accepted by the animals and are almost always encouraged to speak and act," says Hahn. As Rainer Wohlfarth emphasized, dogs are not a panacea. "The mere presence of an animal does not tell you in advance whether the therapy will be good or bad." However, a positive impact on health should be achieved in any case. It is considered proven that even the mere presence and even more stroking of dogs helps to lower the blood pressure and the heart rate of humans. In addition, dealing with the animals reduces stress and anxiety. (Ad)