The Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona has implemented assisted therapy with dogs for children and adolescents admitted for mental disorders, complementing their usual treatment and helping them learn to «identify and regulate emotions.» The Psychiatry Service at Hospital Vall d’Hebron and the president of the Animal and Society research institution at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid have developed this therapy, which will be evaluated through a clinical study, as reported in a statement on Friday.
Since April, the center has had two Golden Retrievers named India and Musa, and three Jack Russells named Odette, Opala, and Xata, with which this therapy is carried out: sessions are held once a week on Fridays in groups of 2 to 4 patients and last for an hour.
In addition to reducing anxiety and improving self-esteem, interacting with the dogs provides clinical information and «helps break down the wall of distrust with which many patients arrive.» Assisted therapy with dogs helps regulate emotions and improve self-esteem: around 70% of patients are admitted for self-harm, and the majority of the rest have an eating disorder or autism.
The project is funded by Dingonatura and has the collaboration of the Perruumano Association, specialized in animal-assisted interventions, which has trained a canine team to work with hospitalized adolescents.
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