The Integration of Animals into the Therapy Process and Its Implications as a Unique Medium in Psychotherapy Dror Oren and Nancy Parish-Plass שילוב בעלי חיים בתהליך הטיפולי כמדיו

 

The therapeutic experience is created from three different generating agents: theory, technique and medium, all of which are valuable agents of change in the therapeutic experience. The term medium is referred to in a variety of ways; as material, as a matrix, as communication. This chapter starts with a general discussion of the term medium in the context of psychotherapy including its definition and an explanation of the use of a medium, in terms of the therapist, the client, and what exists and develops between them.  Understanding the place of a medium in psychotherapy focusing on various forms of communication, sensitivity to the concept of medium may facilitate the transformation of a medium for expression into a medium for healing. The use of a medium in psychotherapy, together with its intricacies, implications, and advantages, is also discussed. Next, the chapter focuses on the concept of the presence of an animal (or animals) in the psychotherapy setting as a medium, with all that this entails, as a powerful generator of content from the client's inner world and a channel of communication of that content to the therapist and to the client him- or herself. The various unique qualities of the animals and their surrounding environments, their effect on therapist and the client, and what they may contribute to the therapy process, are discussed. Finally, the need was discussed for the professionalization of the field in order to provide full understanding of how to combine principles of psychotherapy with the understanding of the nature of the medium of

animals, and how to use this medium for the benefit of the client.

הספר עוסק במגוון רחב של נושאים ותחומים שמעסיקים פסיכותרפיסטים העובדים עם בעלי חיים כחלק מהסטינג הטיפולי. הן נושאים תיאורטיים והן דוגמאות לתחומי חשיבה ולפרקטיקה של העבודה באוכלוסיות שונות.

את הספר  "Animal-Assisted Psychotherapy: Theory, Issues, and Practice"  ניתן לרכוש דרך חנות הספרים אמזון בקישור  הבא  או להשיגו בספריות