Ravinthiran, Dinogy - Animal Assisted Therapist

From What can you do with a degree in psychology?

1 Animal Assisted Therapist (Dinogy Ravinthiran)

[edit] Animal Assisted Therapist (Dinogy Ravinthiran)

[edit] General Overview

An Animal Assisted Therapist is a qualified therapist or professional specialized in animal therapy that seeks out to improve patient’s lives who vary in different disorders such as autism, depression or other disabilities. The goal is to help improve their mental, physical, social and emotional well being through the use of animals. Therapists deal with a wide range of age groups in many types of settings such as mental health facilities, schools, prisons or hospitals. Animal Assisted Therapists also work with different types of animals including and not limited to dogs, horses and dolphins. The therapeutic process can involve interacting with an animal being around them, petting them and taking care of them, which in return creates a bond between the patient and animal^[1]

[edit] Job Duties and Responsibilities

Assessing the needs and skills of the patient
Setting individual treatment plans and specific goals for each session to help develop the use of physical, social and cognitive skills for better functioning (e.g. techniques to improve motor skills by petting or riding a horse)
Working to remove barriers that prevent patients from being their normal selves and participating in society
Helping patients interact safely and efficiently with therapy animals
Motivating and teaching patients the benefits of the therapy
Monitoring and evaluating progress of patients
Scheduling appointments

[edit] Typical Workday

Shifts include mornings, afternoons, evenings, weekends and weekdays^[2]. Depending on the number of clients and their specific time needed for rehabilitation, the therapists working hours can vary. Some patients may want fewer sessions that last longer (couple of hours a day) while others may want many sessions that are shorter (an hour a day). Thus, there are no specific months or seasons in which the workload may increase or decrease, but a typical day may range from an hour to several hours depending on the client. There can also be expectations of unusual shifts, as the therapist may need to accommodate the patients and their availability and they must also be willing to work in any weather conditions.

Depending on the setting the clients can vary. For example clients can vary in age (from young children to the elderly) and where they are located. Work place settings can include schools, prisons, hospitals, mental institutes and senior homes. Clients can include students, patients at hospitals and mental institutes, prisoners or the elderly. Animal Assisted Therapist must also be willing to be prepared to deal with different personalities and behaviors (such as physical or verbally aggressive) clients and must be able to keep themselves, the client and the therapy animal calm^[2].

Animal Assisted Therapists can work amongst many different colleagues, depending on the situation that the therapy animal is being used for. Colleagues can include other therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, teachers, police officers and many more^[2]. Most importantly, Animal Assisted Therapists must work alongside different types of therapy animals such as dogs, farm animals, marine animals and much more.

Some of the special tools and technology required for the job involve having properly trained and medically examined animals who are able to stay calm among a variety of different situations and people at any given time. Other tools may include other equipment that may be needed for the animal (such as food, saddles etc) and the patient’s needs (e.g., walkers, wheelchairs etc).

[edit] Educational Requirements and Other Qualifications

To qualify to be an Animal Assisted Therapist, one must complete a four-year BA or certificate in recreational therapy or a related field such as psychology or social work^[3]. Having a Masters Degree can also give you an advantage in some positions depending on the employer and institute you may wish to work at ^[2]. Depending on the region, some employers may also want to hire graduates who have internship experience or are certified by the National Council of Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) in Canada or other registered therapy practices ^[3]. This can include provinces such as Alberta who has many health institutes that require Animal Assisted Therapists in their program.

Other requirements that may also be beneficial to get hired is having a certification in First Aid and CPR training, specialized training in patient assessment and or having a certificate in Animal Assisted Therapy ^[2]. To obtain an Animal Assisted Therapy certificate (which can be done online) requires the completion of 15 credits and a 40-hour hands on experience fieldwork at the Animal Behavior Institute^[4]. Once this certification has been completed, it is not necessary to renew it. Ongoing training is not necessary, but gaining hands on experience can increase ones credibility as an Animal Assisted Therapist. For more information about getting certified in Animal Assisted Therapy, check out AAT certification program

[edit] Related Skills, Interests, and Abilities

Multitask: Essential for the job as the therapist is required to focus on both the client and animal at all times while also assessing and reporting the progress being made by the client
Organize: Being able to plan appointments without conflicts, creating treatment plans specific for each client and keeping sessions on track is essential part of the job
Communication: Being able to communicate effectively with the client and animal is essential as the primary goal of this job is to work with others. The individual must also have proficient writing skills as they are required to report details of progression during therapy which can later help improve outcome
Being able to work both alone and in a group setting
Enjoy working with a variety of people from different backgrounds and interacting with animals
Being able to create authentic relationships with both patients and therapy animals
Interested in helping others cope with their problems
Be caring, compassionate, empathetic, positive and encouraging

[edit] Relevance of Psychology Undergraduate Degree

Psychology plays a relevant part in Animal Assisted Therapy because part of psychology involves trying to change behaviors and help with a variety of psychological disorders. Having a background in psychology allows an Animal Assisted Therapist to use their knowledge of psychopathology, cognition, learning behaviors and stress to help implement it into their therapy techniques to get the most efficient results. For example having knowledge about the development of abnormal behaviour and psychopathologies gives the therapist an insight to the etiology and potential treatment actions that best work for the specific disorder. By having this knowledge they are able to implement it with the use of therapy animals. Having knowledge about cognition and learning behaviors is also beneficial because it gives the therapist the ability to know how an individual’s brain works along with the different learning behaviors of individuals which can be helpful when making individual treatment plans to correct behavior. Overall, stress can also be a major reason as to why many individuals part take in Animal Assisted Therapy, so it is essential that therapists are well aware of how our brain perceives stress and the impacts associated with it. With this background knowledge, the therapist is later able to use the therapy animal to help decrease the stress as it has been seen to be effective in many cases. For example, in many universities including Brock, during exam times dogs are brought in to help decrease the stress among students.

[edit] Salary Potential

The Canadian starting salary of an Animal Assisted Therapist is $15.88/ hour leading to an annual salary of $34,425. The typical average wage can be up to $25.35 per hour. During the first 5-10 years of the job, there is potential to increase the pay with additional experience and qualifications leading to an annual salary of up to $65,688 ($31.78/ hour), but after about 20 years there is no potential to grow^[5]. Depending on the province salary potential may differ as different requirements are expected. For example, The Alberta Health Services Institute pays their therapist depending on experience, where they work and their responsibilities. Their pay range can vary from $34.33/ hour to $48.25/ hour depending on these factor ^[2].

[edit] Job Outlook

It has been projected that Animal Assisted Therapy and therapy in general will grow by 27%- 28% in the next ten years^[4]. Many jobs can incorporate animal therapy for reducing stress and dealing with more complex issues such as helping with psychological disorders. Animals give people positive feelings and this form of therapy can be very beneficial especially for those who are shy and or have difficulty communicating with others^[6]. Thus, it is likely that demand for these jobs will be prevalent among urban settings as there are more opportunities for this therapy to be used in work settings, schools and hospitals compared to rural areas where there may not be as much opportunities available.