9781422273012

This therapy dog is visiting a hospice patient. Therapy dogs can bring a great deal of comfort to those in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices.

In the 1960s, child psychologist Dr. Boris Levinson began to conduct formal research on using animals in therapy. Dr. Levinson discovered that his own dog had a positive impact on his young patients who had mental impairments. These patients seemed to feel more comfortable with the dog around and also to prefer socializing with the dog than with other people. Unfortunately, Dr. Levinson’s work wasn’t taken seriously until after the publication of Freud’s journals and letters detailing his work with Jofi several decades earlier. Dr. Levinson then became known as the “Father of Animal-Assisted Therapy.”

Therapy Dogs

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