Therapet
Animal Assisted Therapy
Therapet currently has 90+ dogs, 3 cats and a cockatoo working in our programs. The animals do far more than just visit patients. Therapet establishes goal-oriented therapy programs as well as visitation programs.
We have also helped establish programs in other parts of Texas, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York and Virginia. Therapet holds educational seminars across the country to help clinicians, educators and volunteers learn how to use animals in health care, education and other therapy and visitation related settings.
AAT offers numerous benefits beyond those available through traditional therapies. In this era of managed care and cost reduction, AAT allows therapists to use one treatment tool, an animal, to target a variety of goals. In a hospital setting these goals include, but are not limited to, improving patients’ range of motion, strength and endurance, balance and mobility, and sensation. During the same session, using the animal, cognitive and perceptual deficits can be addressed. The patient also receives psychosocial benefits such as building rapport, increasing self-esteem and motivation, and stress reduction. What other modality offers such a variety of benefits in such a delightful package?
