What happens when a client gets frustrated with a horse that will not move? That may sound like a small thing. During therapy, though, the reaction can be worth talking about. Does the person immediately give up? Try to force the situation? Get embarrassed? Ask for help? Laugh and try something else?
At Fields for Growth Therapy, those ordinary moments can become part of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Knoll Creek West. Animals are incorporated into counseling to give clients another way to communicate, notice their reactions, and work through concerns. It is still therapy. It just does not always look like therapy from across a desk.
If you are wondering whether this would be comfortable for you or your child, start by asking questions. Call (630) 675-3944 for a free 15-minute consultation and learn more about Animal-Assisted Therapy in Knoll Creek West, IL.
What Happens Around the Animals Matters
Animals do unexpected things. A dog gets distracted. A horse decides it would rather stand still. A bunny may be the animal someone immediately wants to hold, while a much larger animal makes that same person nervous. None of those reactions need to mean something profound. Sometimes, a horse standing still is simply a horse standing still.
But sometimes a client’s response opens a door. A therapist can ask what happened, how the client felt, and why they responded the way they did. That gives the conversation somewhere concrete to go. Animal-Assisted Therapy in Knoll Creek West, IL, uses these interactions when relevant rather than trying to turn every animal behavior into a lesson.
What Might You Actually Do During an Animal-Assisted Therapy Session?
There is not one standard activity used with every client. The work depends on the person, the reason for counseling, and what makes sense that day. A session could include:
- Brushing or quietly spending time beside a horse
- Walking with or leading an animal
- Observing an animal’s behavior and discussing what you notice
- Creating an obstacle with props and working through it with an animal
- Talking while interacting with a bunny, dog, pig, donkey, lamb, cat, or horse
- Using something that happens naturally as a starting point for conversation
Clients also learn about safety and appropriate interaction with animals before participating.
You have to be able to participate in the process. Animal-Assisted Therapy is not a farm visit added onto a counseling appointment. Activities have a therapeutic purpose, even when they look simple from the outside.
Ready to begin your healing journey? Call us today at (630) 675-3944 to schedule your free 15-minute consultation and discover how we can support you.
The Conversation Might Start Somewhere Unexpected
Picture a client who has been having problems setting boundaries with other people. During a session, the person talks about a dog’s collar. What does a collar do? Does it protect the dog? Restrict it? Provide security? Who controls it? That conversation may go nowhere.
Dr. Sandra Lee Kakacek, LCPC, uses open-ended questions and metaphors like these when they fit naturally into the session. A horse that appears nervous might lead to a conversation about fear. A pig that does not respond when called could raise expectations about how someone reacts when others ask them for something.
There is no answer sheet. Clients are not supposed to figure out what the therapist wants them to say. With Animal-Assisted Therapy in Knoll Creek West, the point is to notice, talk, and see where the conversation goes.
Ready to find out what this type of counseling involves? Call (630) 675-3944 for a free 15-minute consultation and ask Fields for Growth Therapy about Animal-Assisted Therapy in Knoll Creek West, IL.
Understanding Animal-Assisted Therapy: A Counseling Office and a Pasture Do Not Feel the Same
This is an obvious difference, but an important one. Outside, things are happening. There may be the sound of animals nearby. A horse walks into your space. You notice the smell of the pasture. Your hand feels the horse’s coat while you are talking. The weather changes. An animal wanders off.
For a client who feels uncomfortable sitting face-to-face and being asked questions, having something else to notice and interact with can change the rhythm of a session. It can also give the therapist information about what is happening right then. Someone may tense up as a large animal approaches.
Another client becomes noticeably calmer while brushing a horse. Someone else gets irritated because an animal will not cooperate. Those immediate experiences can become part of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Knoll Creek West without the client having to reconstruct every feeling from memory later.
One Early Session Had a Lasting Influence
Dr. Kakacek began formally incorporating animals into counseling in 1999. One of her early equine-assisted experiences involved a child whose parent had died two years earlier. The child had mainly been expressing anger connected with the loss. During a session, the child brushed a horse and talked about the parent.
Then the emotion changed. The child cried and began expressing sadness. There was no complicated therapeutic setup behind that moment. Brushing the horse while talking provided a different context in which the child could express something that had previously been difficult.
Dr. Kakacek continued to use animals in her counseling work. She is an LCPC, animal-assisted therapist, trainer, and certification facilitator, and her decades of experience inform the integration of Animal-Assisted Therapy today.
With Animal Assisted Therapy, You Do Not Have to Love or Enjoy Every Animal
A client may like dogs and feel uneasy around horses. Someone else may be fascinated by the pigs. A child might walk right past the larger animals because there is a bunny nearby. Those preferences do not need to be corrected. In fact, asking why someone chose one animal rather than another can start a useful conversation.
What felt comfortable? What made you keep your distance? Did your opinion change after spending some time there? Animals communicate through movement, posture, distance, sounds, and behavior. People communicate nonverbally, too. Animal-Assisted Therapy provides room to notice both.
Counseling That Does Not Have to Start with the Perfect Words
People come to counseling for different reasons. Anxiety, grief, depression, trauma, family concerns, relationship difficulties, communication problems, frustration, and boundaries are just some of the issues that may be discussed.
You also do not have to walk into the first appointment with a perfectly organized explanation of what has been happening. At Fields for Growth Therapy, Animal-Assisted Therapy may combine conversation with movement, observation, animals, metaphors, sensory experiences, and hands-on activities. What that looks like can change from one client to another.
Maybe talking comes easily. Maybe it takes a while. Both are workable places to begin. Call (630) 675-3944 to schedule a free 15-minute consultation and ask whether Animal-Assisted Therapy in Knoll Creek West, IL, could be a fit for you, your child, or your family. You can start with a conversation about what you need. The animals can come later.