What is pet therapy and who can use it?

The program "Sans Rendez-vous" on Europe 1 focuses on animal therapy on Wednesday, this therapeutic method which uses the proximity of an animal to reduce stress or the consequences of treatment in patients.

In the section "the evils of everyday life", the show "Sans Rendez-vous" deals every day with the small everyday ailments that can rot life for some time.

This Wednesday, we are interested in pet therapy, this method that uses the proximity of an animal to reduce the consequences of treatment in patients.

Journalist Benjamin Lévêque explains who can use this practice, and with which animals.

A therapy born in the 1950s

"The principle of zootherapy is not to be cured by the animal. But it is on the other hand a complement which will make the link between the patient and the doctor and help you get better, whether on the physical or mental. The presence of an animal promotes relaxation, for example. For depressed patients, it will also allow them to feel useful, to come out of their isolation, or even calm patients very stressed because they are hospitalized .

Animal therapy was discovered decades ago, as veterinarian Bénédicte Hivin explains: "Boris Levinson was an American psychiatrist, who in the 1950s did some research and took in a dog lost in the streets of New York. He brought him back to his office and then received a couple with an autistic child for consultation. Thanks to this dog, he was able to observe the first attempt to connect with the outside world of this autistic child. End of the 50s-60s. , we also have Elisabeth and Samuel Corson, also psychiatrists, who used the pet in schizophrenic patients. And they realized that thanks to the animal, it was possible to reduce the doses of drugs of these patients ".

ALSO READ

>> What is scoliosis and how to treat it?

This method is primarily used by people with disabilities, whether physical or mental.

Then, it can be used for our grandparents or retirees, often isolated.

The animal is also increasingly used in the prison environment to aid in the reintegration of prisoners.

The dog or the horse mainly 

But not all animals are suitable for animal therapy.

We will mainly use domestic animals such as the cat, for example, known to be very soothing: when it purrs, our stress decreases.

Sedentary and autonomous, cats are in great demand in retirement homes.

But the two animals most used in zootherapy are dogs and horses.

"We often choose the dog for the emotional aspect it represents, the very strong attachment that humans can have with them. And for their ability to share physical activities such as simple games: throwing a ball, walk ... They then really become real life auxiliaries, such as dogs who are guides for the visually impaired, ”explains veterinarian Bénédicte Hivin.

"The horse is used for all that is physical rehabilitation, motor skills, neuro-muscular functions, balance or coordination. We realize that in fact, when the human is sitting on the horse, he There is a lot of posture work that requires real effort and therefore to be aware of your body. It works a lot of muscles and in these cases, we talk about equitherapy ".

ALSO READ

>> What really happens in our brain on a daily basis?

More exotic as for them, dolphins are also used in certain therapies, always according to this specialist.

There is a hypothesis according to which the ultrasounds produced by these mammals have positive effects on humans, and in particular allow the production of endorphins.

This therapy does not really have any contraindications.

If not to choose the animal well.

That is, do not use a dog if you have a phobia of dogs, or avoid cats if you are allergic to their hair. "