When it comes to bringing in your furry friends with you inside a rehabilitation facility, there are things that you have to know first. While this might seem like such a great idea, there’s actually a difference between animal-assisted therapies and pet-friendly treatments in rehabilitation facilities in Houston, Texas, and beyond.
Skyward Treatment is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility on the outskirts of Houston, and we offer both animal-assisted therapies and pet-friendly treatments. While they may seem similar, there are differences that not many people know.
This is why we will be talking about these differences in this blog post.
Pet-Friendly Treatments
First, pet-friendly treatments are where volunteers would take their gentle and trained pets to different settings. These settings could be hospitals, schools, or rehabilitation facilities so the people inside these places could experience that cheering up brought by therapy animals.
This treatment is quite simple, and it does provide that gentle joy and relief that’s brought by having an animal around. The mere act of petting an animal is also a benefit of pet-friendly treatments. We believe that this is beneficial because it can relieve a patient’s stress level, and it can also produce both hormones and neurotransmitters that can help their physical well-being and emotional stability.
Animal-Assisted Therapies
Meanwhile, animal-assisted therapies will often involve social workers, therapists, and counselors specifically trained and engaged in animal-assisted therapies. This is something that can be done with a wide range of animals, from dogs, horses, cats, and even llamas! Although the most common ones are the first two; dogs and horses.
This is a therapy that can make our patients feel happy and loved. This can also decrease the level of loneliness and stress they’re feeling while inside a rehabilitation facility.
Here at Skyward Treatment, we offer both pet-friendly treatments and animal-assisted therapies. Not only that, but we have pet-friendly accommodations should you want to bring in your own therapy animals.
We believe that your journey towards addiction recovery isn’t a road that you’ll have to work on by yourself – trust us on that one.
So what are you waiting for? Join us today at Skyward Treatment and bring in your furry friends with you on your road towards long-term sobriety!