The Healing Capacity of Animal Assisted Counselling
The Healing Capacity of Animal Assisted Counselling
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Issue Date
2026-01
Authors
Keszthelyi, Sylvia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
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Abstract
Amid rising and increasingly complex mental health challenges, there is a growing demand for innovative therapeutic approaches that address both physiological and relational aspects of client care. While animals have long been used in the treatment of humans, the formal implementation of animals with the clinical treatment plan is still a newer, growing modality that is not well understood. The goal of this capstone is to provide counsellors, current and future, with a comprehensive understanding of animal-assisted counselling and how it can enhance their therapeutic practice. The human-animal bond has intrinsic attributes that support individuals to feel more connected with others and within themselves using the foundations of Polyvagal theory and the therapeutic alliance. This capstone will propose a workshop to educate any counsellors interested in using animals within their clinical work, to expand their capacity in addressing the evolving landscape of mental health care.
Description
Keywords
animal assisted counselling , therapeutic alliance , polyvagal theory , human-animal bond
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States , openAccess