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Canine Assisted Learning is at the forefront of animal assisted interventions in the UK, offering  specialist support to mental health hospitals. 

Our specialist teams utilise the benefits of  the human animal bond providing professional interventions to enhance the emotional wellbeing and mental health of young people and adults. Our teams can help with the following areas:

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Canine Assisted Learning offers both consultancy interventions and an affiliate training programme to hospitals.

 

 

“Lily’s involvement was greatly acknowledged when we were able to work with a young person who was selectively mute and felt no-one, other than lily, was safe enough to trust. This young person had not spoken in over two years and struggled to engage with any other therapies. We were referred to this individual and immediately lily’s presence helped calm and contain the anxieties the young person had. Whilst Lily is able to comfort and ‘hold’ the emotions in the room, it is the partnership between dog and therapist that truly helps see the results. With Lily supporting the young person they were able to engage with therapist and build up a strong, working, therapeutic relationship. Over time, using an integrative counselling and animal assisted approach the young person was able to regulate and understand their emotions, whilst understanding the trauma that lied beneath. With many selectively mute individuals, a trigger can be initiated from traumatic event. For this individual, being able to work with the therapist to replay and re-frame these events were necessary for any verbal communication to begin. This also further improved difficulties alongside such as flashbacks and panic attacks. After further work, the therapeutic relationship was strong enough for the individual to feel they could communicate a word verbally. Starting small. speaking to lily once a week allowed the process to begin and furthermore resulted in the individual trusting the therapist enough to communicate these worries also. Once this happened, the life of the individual began to greatly improve. Being able to form this therapeutic relationship and begin to communicate verbally meant other services were also able to engage. 
Whilst this highlights some of the work that the therapist does, it would not have been possible if  Lily was not there to make that individual feel safe enough to engage. Many young people feel they cannot relate and trust new people. However, dogs have the innate ability to comfort these uncomfortable feelings and to tolerate this whilst working therapeutically. 
 

Thank you Lily for supporting young people who fear the idea of ‘therapy’ and to comfort them whilst on this journey.”

‘I found pet therapy really helpful especially around my friends, when the dog comes in its the only time I don’t need a restraint. I found being able to spend time with both Katy and Masie really relaxing’’

‘I found pet therapy really helpful especially around my friends, when the dog comes in its the only time I don’t need a restraint. I found being able to spend time with both Katy and Masie really relaxing’’

“A child who is exposed to the emotional experiences inherent in playing with a pet is given many learning opportunities that are essential to wholesome personality development. His play with the pet will express his view of the world, its animals, and its human beings, including his parents and peers.”

Boris Levinson