9781422273012

ONE OF THE ORIGINAL THERAPY DOGS

Initially, the idea of therapy dogs was met with laughter and derision from those in the field of psychology. However, Sigmund Freud (one of the founders of modern psychology) often utilized his beloved Chow-Chow Jofi in his therapy sessions. While Jofi was initially present during these sessions because Freud found that he himself was calmer with the dog nearby, Freud observed that many of his patients also seemed more at ease when Jofi was present. According to an article in Psychology Today , Freud noted that these differences were most pronounced in children or adolescents, and that patients in general were more willing to talk openly about painful issues when a dog was in the room. Freud began experimenting by placing Jofi in various places around the room. This allowed him to observe that placing Jofi in a location near the patient tended to result in the patient being able to discuss their emotions more easily. He also found that placing Jofi near himself and away from the patient resulted in no benefit for the patient. A paper published on the history of therapy dogs states that Freud used Jofi to facilitate doctor-patient communication. Conversations with Jofi present often served as a stepping-stone to patients feeling comfortable enough to speak with Freud himself. These discoveries, made in the 1930s, weren’t researched until almost two decades after Freud’s death in 1939. This is because most of Freud’s experimentation with Jofi was detailed in private letters and journals that weren’t uncovered until after he died. While it took some time for this practice to catch on, the work that Freud did with Jofi was essential in establishing the function of a therapy dog and would help make this growing movement more respectable within the field of mental health care.

What is a Therapy Dog?

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