Restoring Something Lost - The Mental Health Impact of Therapy Dogs in Prisons
"...the Centre for Mental Health published a new report evaluating the impact of therapy dogs in a prison environment. “Restoring something lost: The mental health impact of therapy dogs in prison”... describes the evaluation of a therapy dog scheme introduced to three
prisons in England’s North East by Rethink Mental Illness to pilot,
develop and test initiatives which may reduce the risk of self-harm or
self-inflicted death in prison. Rethink therapy dogs worked with
women and men (including young men). The mental health benefits of
therapy dogs have been demonstrated widely across health care settings.
In the light of increasing rates of self-harm and suicide in prisons,
the Centre for Mental Health explored whether these benefits could be
replicated amongst people in prisons.
Evaluating the work of
Rethink Mental Illness in three prison sites, Dr Durcan found that the
therapy dogs had a calming influence on prisoners, helped increase
coping skills and strategies, and provided a safe space for them to
explore ways of expressing and processing emotions."
No comments:
Post a Comment