“I Don’t Feel Alone in This”
Rabbit Assisted Compassion Focussed Therapy for People with Disabilities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/pl.v46i1.157801Keywords:
animal assisted therapy, animal assisted services, rabbits, intervention manualAbstract
People with moderate to severe functional impairment may experience shame, self-criticism and isolation, but few psychotherapeutic opportunities are available for this population. Compassion-based therapies facilitate kindness towards one’s own challenges and thus counteract shame and isolation but may be too demanding for people with cognitive impairments. Animals
may facilitate support, allow pleasant projections and mediate contact between people, all without much cognitive demand. However, this must be integrated with an actual form of therapy if it is to provide genuine therapeutic benefits. We developed a Rabbit Assisted Compassion Focussed Therapy (RA-CFT) for this population and implemented it in small group settings to further facilitate cohesion and community. This article introduces the main elements of the therapeutic manual, which includes population-adapted tools and eight weekly sessions whose main content is listed. We then summarise from a case study while focussing on participant statements that indicate the formation of a community with and around the rabbits and the therapy. We conclude that RA-CFT is a promising form of therapy for this population but requires sufficient knowledge of both rabbits and the therapeutic elements.
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