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Frequently
Asked Questions:
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What
is Animal-Assisted Activities/Therapy?
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What is Animal-Assisted Crisis Response?
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What are the differences between AAA/T &
AACR?
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What
makes HOPE AACR different?
What is
Animal-Assisted Activities/Therapy?
Animal-Assisted Activities or Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAA/T),
is delivered by
a
team, consisting of a trained handler and animal, where they
provide companionship, comfort, socialization, mental
stimulation, and appropriate physical touch to name a few. When
a therapy team is directed by a professional, and a session has
specific goals for the client, the intervention is considered to
be AAT. Therapy teams usually do their work in hospitals,
nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and schools. Therapy
teams conduct their work on a scheduled basis, with the settings
being predictable and familiar. Most AAA/T visits last
from thirty minutes to two hours. The benefits of AAA/T
are documented and recognized by most health care professionals.
AAA/T is open to many different kinds of animals.
What is
Animal-Assisted Crisis Response?
AACR is an advanced form of AAA/AAT, where teams are trained to
respond in more intense emotional and environmental situations
than usually encountered with AAA/AAT work. Crisis Response work
may require the handler and dog to conduct their work directly
under the guidance of Mental Health Professionals. HOPE AACR
Certified Teams are required to go through training such as:
crisis intervention skills (emotional first aid), animal behavior
and stress management, critical incident
stress management, incident command system training, first aid
and CPR, and pet first aid, to name a few. In addition,
crisis response teams spend a lot of time desensitizing their
dogs to common sights, sounds, and smells they may encounter at
a crisis scene. Crisis response work is appropriate for
dogs only, which is mainly due to societal norms, such as seeing service
and/or working dogs in public places.
What are the differences between AAA/T & Crisis Response?
The table below
compares the differences between Pet Therapy (AAA/T) and Crisis Response
(AACR) work.
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Pet Therapy (AAA/T) |
Crisis Response (AACR) |
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Visits are typically
scheduled in advance.
|
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Call-outs typically come without much warning.
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Travel to and from a pet
therapy visit is usually by
usually by familiar means,
such as the family car.
|
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Travel to crisis scene may be by car, bus, airplane, train, boat,
or even Emergency Response Vehicle.
|
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Most visits are routine and predictable. Visits are
usually in facilities we and our dogs grow accustom
to.
|
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Crisis scenes may be chaotic and are unpredictable.
Scenes may have loud
sounds, bad odors, and may be visually difficult to
handle.
|
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Visits are usually
calm with a few exceptions such as emergency rooms. Therapy teams may
encounter people expressing emotions,
stress, trauma and grief.
|
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Crisis scenes, by their nature, are not predictable.
Teams are likely to encounter people
expressing intense emotions, stress, trauma and
grief.
|
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Help is usually available from facility staff, if
needed. Places you might visit for Pet Therapy are
usually quite safe.
|
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Crisis response teams must be self-sufficient so as to not become
victims themselves, or burden responders.
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Half hour to two hour visits are typical for most
AAA/T visits. Stress is typically not a
problem, but a handler should be aware of what to
look for.
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Call-outs may last from
an hour to several days. Breaks must be taken
frequently. Teams must be careful to look for
signs of stress in their dog and themselves
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Visits can be done alone without much concern for
safety. Teams should be aware of and practice
good hygiene protocols.
|
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Call-outs are usually
done with other teams for safety reasons. The
welfare of our canine partner and other teams is
critical. Crisis response teams must be aware
of all manner of safety issues when working on a
call-out.
|
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Visits are usually not
physically demanding for the handler or animal.
Visits are usually indoors.
|
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Call-outs may be very
physically demanding, requiring teams to walk
distances, remain on their feet for long periods,
and work outside.
|
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Costs incurred by a pet
therapy volunteer are typically under $200 per year.
|
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Costs incurred by a
crisis response volunteer may be well over $200 per
year, depending on travel costs.
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AAA/T
visits are usually appropriate for animals such as
dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, and a few other domestic
animals.
|
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Crisis
response work is suitable for dogs
only.
Dogs are generally accepted in American society as
"helpers of man" which makes them acceptable at
crisis scenes. Crisis response scenes
are difficult places and working dogs are common.
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What makes HOPE different?
- Our screening helps to select qualified teams for training.
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Training workshops are used to further identify teams
that are ready for crisis response work.
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Training areas are comprehensive and are taught by
highly qualified professionals in each field.
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Continuing education, emergency response drills, and
on-going canine training contribute to keeping HOPE AACR teams at
the highest state of readiness.
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All teams are active and experienced in AAA/T.
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Many teams are affiliated with emergency response
organizations such as: Red Cross, CERT, and other disaster
agencies.
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The operational structure of HOPE AACR is configured to help
Certified Teams be successful during a call-out by providing
Team Leaders, Group Leaders, and Agency Representatives.
This structure insures teams are supported as they provide
comfort and support services.
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