HEART for Trauma Recovery
Studies of animal adoption programs are replete with accounts of participants describing how
Many of these are the general benefits of having a pet.
However, there are distinct, powerful effects of adopting and animal from a shelter or rescue
HEART is an acronym that stands for "Humans Experiencing Animal Recovery Therapy," which is a specialized type of animal exposure therapy that heavily relies on an animal-supportive home.
A common refrain is "I set out to rescue the animal, but the animal ended up rescuing me."
The specific
Add to HEART: Useful for group environments, short duration when all residents are compatible with it, not permanent in case some residents end up not liking it as much, they see the cat get better and move on before getting too attached.