Support Healing Through Animal Therapy for Kids

Over the years, we have witnessed the profound positive impact animals can have on children facing significant challenges. Both the children in our care one being a foster kiddo have faced trauma and have found comfort and healing through interactions with animals. Inspired by these experiences, we are embarking on a project to establish an animal therapy area at our home.

Use of animals in therapy has shown positive results in many cases, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, sexual abuse victims, autism, and more. The goal of this animal-assisted intervention is to improve a child’s social, emotional, or cognitive functioning without forcing a one on one situation. Most of these children that are in the state system do not trust people due to their past.

Animal therapy builds on a concept called the human animal bond, which describes people’s desire to interact with and relate to animals. For many people, by interacting with a friendly animal, they can form a bond with them. This bond can produce a calming state in the person. The positive interactions with an animal may lead to benefits in the mind and body, such as reduced stress and an overall more balanced mental and emotional state. Evidence for animal assisted therapy appears strongest for markers of anxiety and depression in the widest range of people.