Harnessing the Healing Power of Animals

article by Mike Franzman

Dr. Stefanie Lacoff is not your usual psychotherapist. She may have the obligatory degree, the required experience, the gifted insight of the therapist, but that is where the similarities end. Dr. Lacoff has taken the field of psychotherapy in a direction where few have traveled to date, introducing animals into the human therapy session. She is a Therapeutic Riding Instructor, an Equine-Facilitated Mental Health Professional, and she runs a therapeutic riding facility in Greenwich, CT. This facility is called Inspiration Farm, and very accurately so.

Still a licensed psychotherapist, Dr. Lacoff has additionally studied the use of animals to aid in psychotherapy, and is now skilled at helping the patient relax and open up by being around, and interacting positively with, various animals. Several years ago Dr. Lacoff discovered that animals have a unique gift for making therapy go a little more smoothly: Animals can reduce stress, and they often help instill a feeling of calm in humans. Conversely, animals also can be thrilling to be around, and thus a person might look forward to going to therapy if it includes being around animals.

Dr. Lacoff first stumbled upon this concept while studying the work of another doctor in graduate school. Dr. Boris Levinson had realized in his own sessions that a child would really light up if an animal was present during the therapy----in this case, it was the good doctor's very own dog. He subsequently wrote several books about animal assisted psychotherapy, which inspired Dr. Lacoff to write her dissertation on this subject. More reinforcement came later when it was discovered that her very first patient in Florida was involved in Therapeutic Horseback Riding. The patient's mother told Dr. Lacoff that in addition to recommending the horseback riding for therapy, the child's pediatrician had also suggested that they get a dog, knowing the value interaction with animals would provide.

Each individual patient may respond better to certain animals. Dr. Lacoff says, "Some kids have more interest in one specific animal, like cats, or dogs... Sometimes I take a patient outside, thinking they will want to see the horse, but some want the cat--- it comforts them---- and it excites them to be there, so they look forward to coming back. I had one boy actually ask his father if he could come every day!"

This unique and enjoyable animal-assisted therapy session can elicit quite the opposite of the usual response to being told you will be needing therapy, and works wonders with patients of all ages. The therapy has a much more comfortable and natural flow when the animals, and the patient's interaction with the animals, help to dictate the flow of the session somewhat.

Dr. Lacoff explains, "I meet with the patients first. We start inside, then go outside to the barn, whatever feels right.  We may groom the horses, we may play with the cats, walk with the dog... whatever works. I see how they interact with the horses or how they play with the cats. I conducted a therapy session with one little girl who just sat on a bale of hay and played with the cats the entire session. The next week, we may play with the dog, we just see where it goes. It is interesting too, to see how the patient responds to the different animals. Some animals are more than others, and you can see which type the child is drawn to, some children respond to the needy, or might respond more to the independent animal.

Understanding how animals interact with humans also helps Dr. Lacoff in her sessions. She explains, "Dogs tend to be more dependent than cats, dogs are more needy, more dependent on humans---- and horses are very dependent on humans.  Cats are far more independent. Cats are a whole different dynamic than a dog is--- cats are mysterious, they can lend more to the imagination for those patients who are imaginative---- others want the dog who needs more attention.

Dr. Lacoff has been working with children since 1994, but it was impossible to involve animals in their treatment while working in an agency setting. She went into private practice in 2000, and then was able to have her dog in the office. She found that the presence of a dog in the session greatly increased most children's comfort level. "Something about having a friendly animal close by made it fun, made it something to look forward to rather than something to dread, or fear. Having a dog or cat to interact with, helps the work start better, it allows the process to unfold a little more quickly and a little more smoothly.

"For example, I had one little boy who was about 8 years old, and had been bullied in school, but didn't really want to talk about it. We went outside and saw two of my horses, and one horse was being more dominant than the other. The boy asked me why one horse was 'bullying" the other, and I asked him how he thought the second horse might have felt. He told me all about how that horse felt because of the bullying----instead of talking about his own uncomfortable feelings, he talked about the horse's feelings."

In this amazing approach to psychotherapy, Dr. Lacoff found, "The animals help diffuse any type of tension, or lack of desire to talk to me. Some patients even talk to the animals instead of to the doctor, sometimes it is easier to tell an animal something, than it is to tell another human being. A lot of patients may be intimidated because they may have tried therapy before, and the child maybe didn't respond. But doing it this way, the parents can tell them that there will be animals there, and it's much easier---it's fun. And that makes every one happier. It really does benefit everyone, even the animals.

Asked if she has any animal preference, Dr. Lacoff is candid, "I wasn't really a cat person, but Cheryl DeFilippo from The Greater New Haven Cat Project turned me into one! The two cats I adopted from her are great, especially Lucy. Lucy, a black & white calico, is one of two cats rescued from GNHCP. Lucy is the friendlier, more social one. I can call her, and she comes like a dog. Lucy is great, whereas her sister, Ethel, is a bit more reserved and has to be in the mood.

It is amusing and perhaps even a bit eye-opening that animals, like humans, have their very distinct personalities and moods. Considering this, how could it be anything less than genius, to include animals in traditional psychotherapy?

To read more about Dr. Lacoff's revolutionary work, contact Inspiration Farm at (203) 532-4400 or visit their website at www.sllonline.com.