In the terrible reality that we have all experienced since September 7, there are those who will carry with them scars for years, having experienced and seen scenes that are difficult to contain as a result of the bloody events. Research shows that dog-assisted therapy can help people suffering from PTSD by contributing to their mental health and helping them release to some extent from the stress and anxiety so that they can return to a good level of functioning.
Ofer Biton, Director of the Department of Canine Therapy at the Cypress Campus, explains how dog therapy can help post-traumatic stress disorder, and how caring for those who need you may also be the best way to take care of yourself. "Dogs are known not only as loyal companions, but also as powerful sources of comfort and support for people dealing with PTSD. For those, having a four-legged friend can offer emotional healing, a path to recovery and even be life-changing," he said. "The therapeutic benefits of interacting with dogs, from their calming presence to their ability to provide a sense of security, make them valuable allies on the journey towards healing and inner resilience."
A study conducted in the United States in collaboration with Waltham Pet Hospital showed that walking dogs in kennels has a positive effect on post-traumatic stress symptoms in veterans. The researchers, who come from several universities in the United States, examined 33 veterans, most of them suffering from PTSD, who walked the dogs for four weeks. The results showed that walking the dogs significantly improved the soldiers' physiological and psychological stress levels.
Caring for dogs has a positive effect, photo: Royal Canin - PR
The researchers examined participants' physiological stress indices, including changes in heart rate, cortisol in saliva, and alpha amylase, as well as the psychological stress reported by participants during and after walking. The results showed that the same soldiers improved their levels of both physiological and psychological indicators, with the improvement being even more pronounced among soldiers with higher levels of PTSD symptoms, who sit on four axes: the first – avoidance ("I will prevent myself from doing certain things because it reminds me of the event"), the second – intrusiveness ("the memories of trauma accompany me against my will 24 hours a day"), The third is hyper-arousal ("I am very alert and sensitive to any noise or nuisance") and the fourth is negative thoughts ("I am not the same person I was before the event").
"Dog grooming is internal grooming"
Dr. Ilan Volkov, an expert psychiatrist and medical director at MindMe Psychiatric Center, describes that PTSD is a common reaction after a traumatic event – a serious event that threatens a person's life or body, such as war, terrorist attack, violent assault (physical and/or sexual), traffic accidents and more. Each of these traumas can cause different mental effects and post-trauma of varying degrees of severity and duration.
Since Israel has been a country at war since its inception, post-traumatic stress disorder is a very common disorder. Large-scale surveys show that half or even more of the population will experience a severe traumatic event during their lifetime (assault, car accident, terrorist attack, etc.), and later – 4% of them will suffer from post-traumatic symptoms. Some have been diagnosed and officially recognized by the state, meaning treatment and other rights, while those who have not been formally diagnosed face PTSD without state assistance with varying degrees of success or failure. There are more than 5,000 people living in Israel who have been recognized by the Ministry of Defense as disabled IDF soldiers due to post-traumatic stress disorder due to shell shock or combat reaction. Additional studies show that among abductees or people who have been tortured, the rate of PTSD soars to up to 80%.
Much more than a faithful companion (illustration), photo: Meir Gur
According to Bitton, the Family Division of the Ministry of Defense has a project whose job is to adapt dogs to post-traumatic patients. He describes the case of a man in his 50s who suffers from complex PTSD from his military service, where any loud noise or sight of blood would put him in high distress, as part of which he would shut himself up in his home for long periods of time, even up to a year. "Seclusion and the inability to make new connections, escape from coping, is a symptom of PTSD," he says. "As soon as he received a dog, the first task was to get him out of his house two or three times a day in order to create a completely different reality in him, which in turn led to a significant development. The walk with the dog led to a commitment to get out of the house and have conversations with people about his condition. The dog has a service dog harness, which raised questions in people and created interaction. From a man who didn't talk to anyone but his family, he started talking to strangers, telling about the incident he had experienced and why he needed a service dog."
"It should be noted that therapy dogs work together with a psychologist or psychiatrist, whose job is to treat the patient and give him tasks related to dogs as well," Biton added. "Grooming your dog is internal grooming, as the combination of the psychologist's or psychiatrist's instructions or requests builds the specific treatment that is appropriate for everyone who needs it."
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