Working with
victims of physical, sexual and mental abuse is an area filled with difficultly.
It becomes even harder when dealing with children.
Mary Jo McVeigh, a counsellor and child trauma
expert, is
the founding principal of Cara House, which
helps children dealing with trauma. In addition to traditional counselling, the
clinic offers special sessions with a loveable Spoodle (poodle cross cocker
spaniel) named Toby.
Toby is the canine clinical lead at Cara House. He's been helping trauma survivors for 5 years and an integral part of the
work done at Cara House. It’s very difficult for a child who has been traumatised
by abuse to trust people, especially adults.
"We work through Toby, we say what
would Toby be feeling, what would Toby be thinking... this encourages children to take on a caring role for Toby
and vice versa."
According to
the Australian Institute of Family studies, there were 46,187 claims of child
abuse across Australia in the 2009-2010. Experts say this is a conservative
number because many cases are never reported.
"Relationships for these children
are a dangerous place because it was in their important relationships that they
were hurt," said McVeigh. "Toby has a more purposeful use; the children begin to talk
emotionally through him."
"Being able to note Toby's
emotions and say things like, 'Oh is Toby barking because he's being protective
of us or what's Toby saying?'" said
McVeigh. "That allows children, who
can't talk about their emotions to talk about them through him”.
The use of
animals in therapy, especially dogs, is becoming increasingly common. In June,
a New York court allowed a 15 year old rape victim to have a 'comfort dog' while she testified against her father.
Professional
dog trainer Steve Austin believes dogs are underused in many areas of society
and could become main-stream in helping child abuse victims.
"In my opinion, we have used 15-20%
of the canine's ability. With a canine, the fact that they're just with you is
enough for them, they're a very giving animal," he said.
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