More Mental Health Articles
Therapy Pets For PTSD
At 22-years of age, Tony had experienced life with a capital “L.” He was an outcast in his family because of his unbridled hyperactivity, mania, attentional distractibility, irritability, undisciplined excessive energy and complete lack of responsible judgment. Gang-related activities on both coasts, drugs, and poor choices led to multiple incarcerations and multiple drug rehabilitation programs. Multiple fights, knife and bullet wounds, multiple head traumas, and automobile accidents leading to 20 or more reconstructive surgeries and chronic pain that will require narcotic medication for the rest of his life, characterizethe psychological and emotional landscape ofTony whosuffers from traumatic stress response called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Humans and animals can be traumatized so badly that they become psychologically “stunned” (or knocked senseless) by circumstances. In post-traumatic stress responses, the traumatic imprinting on the bio-physiological processes of the body is so severe and long lasting that the feeling of being completely psychologically overwhelmed can be retriggered over and over again. For those who are brave enough to admit that “too much” was this overwhelming, the use of a therapy animal can be part, or even much, of the answer to re-establishing electrochemical equilibrium in the afflicted person's body.
Tony lives in an apartment and is undergoing frequent reconstructive surgeries as well as surgeries for other non-related medical problems. He is often confined to his bed or a chair for long periods of time while he recuperates. Tony has a therapy cat his first experience with a pet in his lifetime.
Tony immediately learned that his cat did not want anything to do with him when he was too loud or too rough in handling her. Tony wanted the cat to like him, so he learned to modulate his voice and energy so she would come near him. His cat socialized him in amazing ways. He reported within weeks of getting his therapy cat that “she likes me” (largely a new experience for him).
His cat sleeps with him andshe licks his face whenever he starts to suffer from flashback episodes, panic, and hyper-arousal. Tony says that when she wakes him up, it interrupts the panic attack before it really sets in so the intensity of the experience is being diminished over time. He feels comforted by her licking and purring and with her lying with her head in his hand until he goes back to sleep.
Tony participates in regular psychotherapy and sees a psychiatrist for medication management; however, PTSD is a difficult condition to treat. Because of his therapy cat, Tony has begun to develop empathy for the first time in his life which is affecting his world view and confidence in himself as a person. His prognosis for a healthy, functional future is good. But it is through his relationship with his therapy cat, that Tony is observably healing.
