Schizophrenia

Therapists on four hooves or with four paws

Relax, develop courage, overcome fears, build trust

Animal-assisted therapy - what exactly is it? Who benefits from it, how does it offer support? My therapy team includes the Freeberger mares Lady and Calia, as well as the poodle Jasco. The animal-assisted therapy I offer aims at teenagers and adults with mental impairments such as burnout, depression, trauma or anxiety disorder. Therapy with animals can be used as a complementary therapy to psychotherapy.

Everyone benefits

 

With animal-assisted therapy, the focus is on the contact with the horse or dog, with oneself and with nature. Animals offer many possibilities. When patients "work" with animals, this process (even preventively) has a health-promoting effect. Contact with animals reduces especially anxieties and stress. It also influences the own self-image in a positive way.

With the two trained horses or my therapy dog, I accompany patients who want to experience this special way. Animals don’t judge, they are very sensitive and open towards humans.

Building relationships with animals  

Our animal-assisted therapy is divided into different phases. In the beginning, I help the patient to build a relationship with the horse and/or the dog. It is important to know how to deal with animals and to understand their behaviour in certain situations. One part also concerns the understanding and interpretation of the animals’ body language.

While walking, we observe the animals, perceive their behaviour and needs, caress them, talk to them, give them orders, interact with them. This way, we build trust and reduce our own fears.

This phase is followed by the deepening in which I respond (goal-oriented) individually to the needs of the patients. Every hour, I design individually, there is no scheme apart from the welcoming and grooming of Lady or Calia at the beginning of the therapy with horses. At the end, we say good bye to them. This last phase is very important, since the patients have established a relationship with the respective animal. I like to give them a lot of space to say goodbye to Lady, Calia or even Jasco..

Suggestions and inputs

My poodle is lively, playful, attentive and loves to cuddle. Often, patients choose him if they have grown up with dogs themselves or currently have a dog at home and have had pleasant experiences with dogs. I suggest different exercises, which they then test in their own rhythm. In doing so, I support the patients and motivate them to reflect on the common activity in order to get a better idea of their actions.

During the sessions, I make suggestions to the patients or give them input for exercises. Some patients are reluctant at the beginning, sometimes a little anxious, and hardly dare to touch the animal. Over time, this changes a lot. I have often observed at our final ritual that the patients lovingly hug the horse.

 

Horses hold the mirror in front of us

Horses, including Lady and Calia, hold a mirror in front of us – that way, patients become aware of themselves. Horses understand us humans much better than vice versa. They are able to interpret the finest signs of body language. Are you anxious? Are you a daredevil? Are they on top of their lives, or not? How direct is one, how shy, how insecure? For example, if the client is nervous, the horse reacts accordingly.

The horse always demands clarity, it wants clear instructions. If someone is unsure, the horse doesn't know what the person wants from him. That way, patients learn to communicate their wishes clearly. This shows me again and again that the contact to the horses also gives the patients more confidence.

Sometimes, we work on the lead from the back of the horse, sometimes from the ground. We do perceptual, concentration and coordination exercises, as well as confidence and relaxation exercises. Thus, the horse becomes a real partner. The warmth and movement of the horse soothingly appeals to the emotional area of the patients. These can be very valuable experiences. The processing of negative experiences can also be supported.

Many beautiful moments

I always make sure that our therapy hours are animal- and human-friendly. It is very important that everyone involved is always looked after. This is how my patients and I experience many little and beautiful moments in nature during animal-assisted therapies.  

Many people become aware of what was buried in them during animal-assisted therapy. People show that they still have many resources, despite the impairment. These are beautiful and often even healing experiences for all of us. What counts for me in the therapy is always the human being and not a diagnosis. I am happy when patients sometimes succeed in implementing the experiences they had in the equestrian therapy to their everyday lives.

After completing a therapy session, the respective wards receive my therapy report. On request, or if necessary, I also exchange information with the treating psychiatrist.

A full body wrap for new vital energy

Alternative medical applications at the private clinic MENTALVA, Cazis

First, our nursing specialists wrap the whole body of our patients with cold, wet cloths. In the following 40 minutes, the body warms up very quickly, body, soul and mind begin to regenerate. After the towels have been taken off, one feels refreshed.

Because: A full body wrap counteracts inner restlessness and relaxes body and mind, among other things. It helps to be aware of inner blockages in the body by focusing more on oneself. And the psyche also finds kind of a feel-good mode.

The effectiveness of the full body wrap was be supported by studies. People suffering from burnout, depression, tension, reduced efficiency, numbness, tinnitus, anxieties and mental and psychosomatic illnesses in general, are usually struggling to let go of their thoughts and to feel their bodies.

The full body wrap, which releases tensions, allows sufferers to be aware of their body landscape (once more). Some tell us that they initially perceive their body as asymmetrical and at the end of therapy as symmetrical. This effect occurs together with the experienced state of well-being. The method can initiate such and other processes and support recovery.

Patients at the private clinic MENTALVA in Cazis may lose their initial scepticism about this alternative medical therapy already after the first application: because they feel that the wrap is beneficial. By the way, this method is also perfectly suitable for top-heavy people.

We recommend the full body wrap every week for five to six sessions. It is essential to draw the inner attention to one’s body. One learns this with regular training. The effectiveness of the full body wrap increases in combination with other medical and complementary medical therapies, such as phytotherapy or traditional Chinese medicine TCM.

How it works

A linen cloth and a terry cloth are soaked in ice water and wrung out. The upper body is first wrapped with the terry cloth. Then, the lying patient is wrapped in the wet and cold linen cloth. This is topped with a dry linen cloth, a dry wool blanket and then a duvet. After the initial little cold shock, pleasant warmth sets in. Wrapped like a mummy, the 40-minute relaxation phase begins. Mentalva patients never feel constricted despite the tight wrap. On the contrary, they feel truly protected.

With the intense cold and wet stimuli, the awareness is directed to the body. This way, one can sense inner "black blockages" and sharpen the awareness of the here and now state. Thus, the therapy supports deep relaxation in mentally stressed patients. Body, soul and mind experience tranquillity. This creates, as initially described, new vital energy.

Indications summarized:  A full body wrap is beneficial in times of stress, with burnout, depression, reduced efficiency, numbness, a heavy body and even with tinnitus, etc.

 

Psychotherapeutic aftercare for MENTALVA patients

After hospitalization, patients benefit from outpatient aftercare

At the PDGR-owned private clinic MENTALVA in Cazis, many things are different from other institutions:  here, one relies not only on psychiatric expertise but also on complementary medical therapies. There is even outpatient psychotherapeutic nursing aftercare available for the time after the hospital stay. Three of our psychiatric nurses take time for patients who want and need further support after their inpatient stay.

Making your steps into everyday life easier

About five appointments can be booked for this personal aftercare. For patients who are sometimes looked after for several weeks at the private clinic MENTALVA, it is often not easy to find their way back into everyday life. Returning home from a safe, supervised environment is often challenging for those affected, their partners and their families. Psychotherapeutic nursing aftercare is a blessing for everyone. Our specialists can continue to work on important patient issues or discuss emerging issues. They make an essential contribution by ensuring that patients can manage their daily lives as easy as possible.

Since the outpatient aftercare is provided directly at the private clinic MENTALVA, specialists can also get involved if necessary. This is a significant aspect, as there is no need for additional methods and agreements.  We are an uncomplicated team that can also get involved at short notice.

A valuable aspect of care

The private clinic MENTALVA has been offering this additional service for the last two years. The offer has proven successful; patients benefit in every way. For those who return to work relatively soon after the inpatient stay, and for those who have a longer home break, psychotherapeutic aftercare is equally a valuable aspect of care.

This model also relieves the psychiatry itself, since nursing specialists can take on the follow-up care independently and thus guarantee further treatment over a certain period. As it is difficult to obtain private psychiatric support in certain regions, the offers of the private clinic MENTALVA is also extremely valuable in this respect.

Our nursing specialists, who are familiar with outpatient aftercare, know that our patients want to take many inputs from their therapy and try them out at home. During this initial phase, there are, of course, always questions, such as anxieties concerning relationships or colleagues. Sometimes, fears flare up whether one can re-enter the job or how to behave. With our aftercare, we can resolve these issues quickly and do a lot of support work. Of course, we always involve the partner at every stage of the actual hospital stay and during aftercare.