Psychiatric therapy dogs aren’t officially recognised as assistance dogs, but the good they can do is astounding.
Whether you’re a dog person or a cat person, it is not uncommon for people to love their pets. They can be hard work, but it is proven that pets can bring a lot of benefits into a person’s life.
Assistance dogs have been part of life for a long time in the UK, and the right to use an assistance dog in public is protected under the Equality Act. But this doesn’t include psychiatric support dogs. Well, we want to show you just how beneficial psychiatric support dogs can be.
There are lots of psychiatric assistance dog sites online, here are the best ones we found:
Dogs for Depression is a non-profit website that gives people information about how owning a dog can help combat depression. They encourage people to rescue dogs and train them, so the benefit is mutual for both the canine and the human. Their motto: “rescue a dog, rescue yourself”.
This is one of the UK’s largest therapy dog organisations. They have offices all around the UK and organise therapy sessions in hospitals and care homes. They also specialise in discovering the many benefits having a dog can have for children. Their Read2Dogs campaign helps children who struggle with reading by having them read to the dogs.
One of the best ways dog therapy is being used is to combat PTSD in Veterans, and this charity is at the forefront of making this happen. Their website has so many testimonials from ex-servicemen saying how a dog helped them tackle the PTSD they were suffering.
This organisation really focuses on the bond between humans and animals. They almost have it down to a science: they have tailor-made sessions where the matching of the animal and the client are calculated to get the best results. They also offer courses to health professionals to teach them to use animal therapy in their work.
All of these organisations are doing great work, and are doing so well to prove that animal therapy can really help with psychological assistance.
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