Just a moment
Psychotherapy supported by the presence of dogs or other animals — for clients whose nervous systems settle in their company.
Animal-assisted therapy at Foothills is psychotherapy — not animal visits, not emotional support petting, not a break from "real" therapy. It is clinical work that deliberately includes the presence of a trained therapy animal (most often a dog) as part of the therapeutic process.
The animal serves as a co-regulator: a calming, non-judgmental presence that can lower cortisol, increase oxytocin, reduce physiological arousal, and create a sense of safety that helps clients access difficult material more readily. For some clients — particularly those with attachment trauma, social anxiety, or difficulty trusting human relationship — the animal's presence is what makes therapy possible at all.
This modality is grounded in the same trauma-informed, somatic, and relational frameworks that guide all of our work. The animal is not a reward or a distraction. It is a clinical choice, made deliberately, because for this client, in this moment, the animal's presence serves the therapeutic goal.
Sessions are typically 50 minutes. The therapy dog may be in the room from the start, or may be introduced at a point in the session where their presence would be most supportive. Some clients sit on the floor with the dog. Some barely interact with the dog directly but benefit from its quiet presence in the room. Some talk to the dog when they can't yet talk to the therapist.
The therapist is always guiding the process — noticing what the animal's presence brings up, how the client's body responds, what opens or softens. The animal is never forced to participate, and the client is never required to interact with the animal if it doesn't feel right.
Sessions can take place indoors or outside, depending on the animal, the weather, and what the work calls for.
Equine-assisted therapy works with horses and typically takes place outdoors in a longer session format. Animal-assisted therapy more commonly involves dogs and can happen in a more traditional session setting. Both are psychotherapy; the animal and the setting differ, and so does the felt experience.
That's okay — and it's something we'd talk about before introducing the animal. The dog is never forced on you, and sessions without the dog are always an option. Sometimes working with mild nervousness around an animal becomes therapeutically useful in itself.
Yes. Animal-assisted therapy can be particularly effective for children and young people who may not have the language for what they're feeling but can express it through their relationship with the animal.
If something on this page resonated, reach out. There's no pressure and no commitment — just a conversation about whether this might be a fit.