For anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of an amazing animal and felt that special connection, it would seem intuitive that using animals in recovery would be helpful. Humans and animals share a special connection, and it can feel good just to be around animals. But there is more to animal therapy than just petting a dog or riding a horse. Animals can help us become more vulnerable and open up in ways that we might not in traditional therapy. In fact, there are many benefits of animal therapy.
Opening Our Hearts
For those of us who have suffered trauma, are non-communicative, or just have troubles opening up, spending time with animals can increase our ability to share our thoughts and feelings. For many of us, making a connection with an animal is easier than making a connection with a human being, and so spending time with animals is a simple way to increase our vulnerability.
Sometimes, spending time with animals helps us to lower our emotional walls. Perhaps it is just not having someone always talking that helps us to open up. The nonverbal interactions between human and animal can help us remember how to connect emotionally again and to help us to feel, maybe for the first time in a long time. We can foster emotional healing simply by spending time around animals.
Decreasing Our Stress Levels
Animals can help us to relax and lower our stress levels within therapy. There is something very calming about interacting with animals. Anxieties can be significantly reduced when we are around dogs, horses, and more. As we lower our anxiety, we can become more effective in our therapy and healing. Spending time with various types of animals can help us to not only lower our stress levels but also increase our ability to trust.
Bonds of trust can be developed quickly and often more easily with animals than with other human beings. Learning to trust can be very important to those of us who have endured trauma and/or used substances. By building trust with animals, we can be more open to building trust with other human beings and even ourselves again. Modeling trusting relationships helps to foster future trusting relationships
Clear Communication
Sometimes, as humans, we do not get the same responses from everyone in reaction to our behaviors. Some people will be disingenuous with us, others will try to manipulate us, or still, others will be too afraid to be honest with us. Animals, however, will always respond quickly and honestly. They can sense things we do not even say. Chances are good that we do not have people in our lives who have the ability to do the same. By responding to us clearly and quickly, we get consistent feedback about our behaviors.
We can learn a lot about modifying our own behaviors when we are around animals. Their responses will mirror trust, kindness, and more, or they will mirror the opposite, it is up to us. They can show us how to better relate to others, and they can teach us so much about ourselves, as well. Not only is this a type of therapy in and of itself, but it also prepares us to interact and open up with our therapist so that we can be honest with ourselves and learn to heal.
Horseback Riding as Therapy
Many people find horseback riding to be therapeutic on its own. Preparing the horse, building a relationship of trust, and establishing communication are all helpful. The experience itself of sharing the outdoors with such a magnificent creature can feed our soul in ways that few other experiences can.
However, horseback riding also provides an amazing opportunity for actual therapy, too. This is far from sitting on a couch and talking about your problems. Being outdoors and at the mercy of our working relationship with our horses, we create the possibilities for all-new levels of communication. We can create situations of vulnerability and trust that do not naturally occur in a typical therapeutic session. Horseback riding creates an environment for therapy where the sky is literally the limit for our growth.
Caring for Animals
Another opportunity that arises in animal therapy is the chance to help care for the animals. When in substance use, we often become so focused on ourselves and our substances that we fail in our obligations to others. The more we fail, the less we trust ourselves to be able to be there for others.
Animal therapy creates an environment where we learn on a specific level how to care for something other than ourselves again. We gain and build trust in our ability to follow through, and we are rewarded with the displays of affection and trust from the animals we are caring for. Building up these simple acts again of trust and affection can help us to believe in ourselves and our abilities to have meaningful, trusting relationships again with the human beings in our lives.
Find the benefits of animal therapy for yourself. Learn to feel safe, connected, and willing to be open and vulnerable again. At Rancho Milagro Recovery, not only will you enjoy our beautiful ranch setting, but you will get to meet all of our wonderful animals. Call (951) 526-4582 today to find out more about the animals we have. As rescues, they have learned to trust again, and you can learn to trust again, too.