Animal Assisted Therapy and The Bowlby Center for Animal Assisted Therapy
Dealing with the “Corona crisis”, with its implications for all aspects of life, required the team of therapists to address and create special techniques, different from normal work. The crisis erupted about six months ago and is still happening, therefore, it is not yet possible to draw far-reaching conclusions about it. However, some of the events associated with it in the field of AAT can be noted and characterized. In Israel, the first wave of pandemics was accompanied by a complete cessation of all civic activity, including psychotherapeutic treatments of all types and methods.
Under these conditions, the physical distance of the patients from the zoological spaces in which the psychotherapeutic activity had developed up to that time, specifically affected the treatment methods. The lack of direct contact with the animals, and missing the stimuli characteristic of the Zoo, emptied the framework of its essential characteristics. Despite the inherent difficulty, therapists sought creative ways to maintain contact with their patients. They tried to make the animals accessible to patients, using various tools to preserve the continuity of treatment. Indeed, the relationship was maintained in an online connection. Whenever possible, the therapists held in their hands and in front of the screen, the animals familiar to children, and together they sang songs, sharpened riddles, played and told stories. Many times, the animals cannot be brought to the screen, so they are symbolically present. Through children’s responses to these stimuli, it was possible to get an impression of their emotional state, the difficulties they are facing, and to influence in some way the content that the children brought to the online meeting.
Leave a Reply