Hungary’s Semmelweis university discovers how animals can help us heal
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The children come to us with different problems, but fear is a common emotion they share. They know the tests waiting for them, and they might get pricked by needles, so they see us as a kind of “violation unit”. The presence of the dogs and the playful interaction with them helps relieve their tensions and deal with the mental and physical burden of being hospitalised,
says head of the department Dr. Péter Krivácsy.
While waiting, with the guidance of the owners, the children can listen to the animals’ heartbeats or playfully “give” them medicine. In this role play, they become relaxed and gradually open, which has proved especially important in the case of children with special needs, e.g., autism.
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Animal-assisted intervention has long been used in medicine. For example, “puppy therapy” is becoming an increasingly popular activity in workplaces when puppies are brought to the office for a day, and the employees are encouraged to hang out with them. Stroking and playing help employees relax and handle work-related stress better, impressmagazin.hu wrote
“Beyond such animal-assisted activities, animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a more scientific method led by a therapist and backed by a guided programme. The most popular ones are dog or horse therapy, but sometimes cats, rabbits or even farm animals are used in the process,” explains Dr. György Purebl, director of the Institute of Behavioural Sciences at Semmelweis University.
Many healthcare settings use AAT. It is perhaps most prevalent in treating psychological illnesses like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Its main benefit is that animals can act as “icebreakers” – dogs can help patients relax, and their presence creates an opportunity to start and ease into conversations and encourages social interaction. On the other hand, the patient’s interaction with the animal highlights their relationship problems and personal struggles but in a protected environment.
For three years, psychological skills training groups for students have been successfully run at Semmelweis University with the involvement of Molly and Shining, therapy dogs of the Dogs without Borders Foundation. Semmelweis students attend the eight-week-long guided training with problems from performance anxiety or communication difficulties to social isolation.
One of the signature tasks in dog-assisted therapy is the “food refusal test”, when the participants must prevent the dogs from eating the sausages placed around them.
