Childhood Education

ISSN: 0009-4056 (Print) 2162-0725 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uced20

Innovative Therapeutic Intervention for Children:

Animal-assisted therapy in South Australia

Mel Jones

To cite this article: Mel Jones (2018) Innovative Therapeutic Intervention for Children:
Animal-assisted therapy in South Australia, Childhood Education, 94:1, 50-54, DOI:
10.1080/00094056.2018.1420367

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2018.1420367

Published online: 11 Jan 2018.

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 Innovative
Therapeutic
Intervention for
Children
Animal-assisted therapy
in South Australia
Mel Jones
Together 4 Kids

Unique approaches are important to explore

for every aspect of our work with children,
including therapeutic support for traumatized
children. Sometimes, these techniques involve
inviting some furry friends into the classroom.

50 Childhood Education

On any given night in Australia, 1 in 200
people are homeless and a huge 33% of
clients accessing homelessness services are
escaping family violence.1 In one of every three
incidents of domestic violence reported to the
police, children are present. This means that
an alarming number of children in Australia
are either being directly exposed to, or are
witnessing, family violence in their homes,
and witnessing violence is increasingly being
recognized as a form of child abuse both in
Australia and internationally.2
Given this alarming number of children
represented in the current statistics of
homelessness and family violence, it is
evident that a vast number of children in
our classrooms are now living with trauma.
These overwhelming experiences of trauma
rock the very core of children’s brains and
bodies. Even after the traumatic experience
is over, their brains have developed in such a
way that they continue to respond as if the
danger remains. As a consequence, children
can be hyper-vigilant in their environment,
constantly scanning the classroom for real or
perceived threats. When children’s brains are
so preoccupied, learning and concentration in
the classroom becomes very difficult. Children
who have experienced domestic violence and
homelessness can also struggle to understand
and express their feelings, as well as make
positive and meaningful relationships with
others. Thus, you can understand how it might
be really difficult for these children to regulate
their emotions and behaviors in the classroom,
let alone make friends.
The Together 4 Kids Program, as part of
Relationships Australia South Australia
(a community-based non-government
organization), is a child-focused, trauma-
informed service for children who have
experienced domestic violence and subsequent
unstable accommodation. We provide
individualized and specialized therapeutic
intervention and support to children to help
them make sense of their experiences, as
well as to manage their mental health and
development so they can function well at
home, at school, and in their community. The
therapeutic programs we provide for children
can be one-on-one, in a group setting, or a
combination of both individual sessions and
group interactions. The individual therapeutic
care plan is goal oriented and purposeful, with
the aim of achieving a therapeutic outcome
for each child. We are an outreach service,
and so we see children for their therapeutic
appointments predominantly in schools or at
January/February 2018 51
 home. Sometimes it is appropriate to offer our
group programs in child-friendly community
centers and so we collaborate with other
service providers to co-deliver our programs.
Every child is different and so we are flexible
and creative as we encourage and support
innovation with treatment plans.
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Animal-assisted therapy is one such innovation
we have incorporated into our therapeutic
work with children. Trained therapy animals
can be helpful in the therapeutic setting,
supporting the child’s work toward goals and
outcomes. In the Together 4 Kids program,
we are lucky enough to have two of our very
own trained and certified therapy dogs, named
Chloe and Reuben. These gorgeous, gentle,
and friendly Labradoodles accompany their
owner and handler Mel (who has post-graduate
qualifications in psychology and trauma-
informed practice) to sessions with children in
both group programs and individual sessions.
The therapy dogs are also particularly helpful
at first meetings with the child and their
parents or family. The dog’s simple presence
in a therapeutic setting has a calming effect
52 Childhood Education
on the children, acting as a comforting “ice-
breaker” that increases children’s willingness
to engage. As children often find it easier to
talk to animals, much social and emotional
learning can occur through the relationship
that develops between the child and the
therapy dog. Sometimes, Chloe is actively
involved in the therapeutic process, either
physically through interactive activities
(e.g., mindfulness-based sensory activities
using touch of their fur) or hypothetically in
conversational exercises (e.g., externalizing
emotions by talking about the animal’s feelings
and relationships).
This year, a school counselor from a local
school that was struggling to support a
number of young students in their school
community approached Together 4 Kids. The
counselor explained that the children were
unable to remain calm in the classroom; they
seemed to always need to move around. They
were causing a lot of disruption to the entire
class, as well as to their own learning. These
children had a lot of trouble understanding
and expressing their emotions, often having
“meltdowns” in which they would become
uncontrollably upset
and sometimes violent.
The school counselor
continued to explain that
each child had a story that
included experiences of
past and continuing trauma
from domestic violence,
instability (e.g., from
homelessness and constant
moving of house and school
environments), and abuse
and neglect. The Together
4 Kids practitioner, in
discussion with the school
counselor, assessed this
group of eight children and
determined they would
benefit from a therapeutic
group based around

emotional regulation. The children, both girls
and boys, were between 5-8 years.
Therapy With Chloe
With their individual needs and experiences
in mind, the Together 4 Kids practitioners
developed a program of six weekly sessions
that would run for about an hour, to be
delivered at the children’s school. The school
staff (and the children) were very excited when
it was suggested that Chloe the therapy dog
could join them each week for the sessions. It
was also the intention that the environment
for the sessions, including the presence of the
therapy dog, would be a safe and therapeutic
space to help the children feel calm and
supported during their interactions with
each other and with the practitioners. This
was achieved by setting up the space with
colorful, child-size yoga mats, calming music,
and, of course, a friendly greeting
from Chloe as children entered
the space. Each session included
yoga activities, paying particular
attention to breathing, feelings
of stretching and tightness in the
body, and being calm. This was
followed by an art-based activity
related to the children’s developing
emotional regulation skills.
From the very first session at
the school, it was clear that
Chloe’s presence in the room was
exciting and engaging, while also
calming. The children enjoyed
getting kisses from Chloe, patting
her, and stroking her ears; they
even rolled around on the floor
with her, giving her cuddles.
Under the direction of Mel, the
practitioners gave the children time
at the beginning of each session
to interact with Chloe before they
began any of the programmed
activities. This gave them the
opportunity to build a connection
with the dog and each other and to
experience positive emotions.
Once the session started, Chloe set a wonderful
example of sitting quietly and calmly. The
practitioner would draw the children’s
attention to how Chloe’s body looked as she
rested on a yoga mat, and how her belly was
rising and falling calmly as she breathed slowly
in and out. The school staff in the room were
astonished to see how the children (who
normally were unable to sit still for more than
10 seconds on the floor) were able to emulate
Chloe and sit calmly while paying attention to
the instructions for the yoga activity.
Each week following the yoga movement and
breathing exercises, the practitioners would
guide the children through an art activity
based around self-regulation. Some examples
included making a glitter breathing jar (sort of
January/February 2018 53
 like a snow globe), which the children could
use to help them calm themselves in times
of anger or upset. Another example included
tracing life-size body shapes on big pieces of
paper and then talking about where emotions
were felt in the body, using color markers to
identify these areas. At times, one or more
of the children in the group found it too
difficult to continue with some of the activities,
whether because something was triggering for
them and they were becoming uncomfortable
or they were unable to be engaged any longer.
During this time, the practitioners noticed that
the children would move away from the group
and seek out the therapy dog for comfort,
playing with her or just lying down with her
and giving her a pat. Again, the school staff
in the room commented that their choice
to do so was wonderful to see, as their usual
mechanisms were to become disruptive or
upset and/or withdraw under a table or desk.
At the end of each session, the practitioners
would ask the children to each say what their
favorite part of the day was. Without fail, every
child mentioned that having Chloe there was
their favorite part. While Chloe didn’t play an
active and involved part of the activities during
the session, her mere presence had a wonderful
therapeutic effect on the children. Not only
were the children keen to attend the group
program to see the dog, they also had the
opportunity to develop a positive connection
with her and each other and benefit from
her therapeutic, calming effect. Each of the
children had their photo taken giving Chloe
a big hug, and they were given the photos on
certificates that were signed with Chloe’s paw
print.
An Effective, Innovative Practice
In Australia, practitioners, professionals, and
volunteers are able to collaborate with an
animal-assisted therapy team in several ways.
Dogs and their handlers are accepted into
an intensive training program to learn basic
obedience and manners under circumstances
54 Childhood Education
of distraction and for long durations. Thus, the
animals are able to be comfortable, calm, and
appropriate in all sorts of settings (workplaces,
schools, hospitals, clinics, etc.) for significant
periods of time. Relationships Australia South
Australia and the Together 4 Kids team have
established a policy and insurance procedures
so that practitioners across the organization are
able to have a certified therapy dog accompany
them in their role at work. This is to ensure
that certain safeguards are in place to protect
the safety of the animal as well as of the clients.
Written, informed consent from parents and
clients is required, as well as risk-management
processes to ensure appropriateness of
incorporating animal-assisted therapy into
therapeutic care plans.
While animal-assisted therapy is a growing
therapeutic intervention used in the private
sector, as well as in volunteering capacities,
the fact that Relationships Australia South
Australia encourages this innovative and
effective practice is relatively unique in the
non-government community services sector.
We are very proud of our work using animal-
assisted therapy in Together 4 Kids, and love
sharing the fantastic stories of success and
benefit that we see every day with the children
and families with whom we work.
Notes:
1
Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria.
(2016). Facts on family violence 2016. Retrieved
from http://www.dvrcv.org.au/knowledge-
centre/our-publications/poster/facts-family-
violence-2016; Homelessness Australia. (2016).
Homelessness Australia fact sheets. Retrieved
from http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/
index.php/about-homelessness/fact-sheets
2
Australian Institute of Criminology. (2011).
Trends and issues in crime and criminal
justice: Children’s exposure to domestic violence
in Australia. Retrieved from http://www.
aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/
tandi/401-420/tandi419.html