When Tanya Bailey was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, she already knew that animals could have a big impact on mental health. As a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in animal-assisted therapy, Bailey has spent her career finding meaningful ways for people and animals to interact. It wasn’t until that cancer diagnosis, though, that Bailey got to see in action just how important the animal-human bond can be in the most acute situations. Bailey had always loved her chickens, she says, but during her treatment, they gave her a reason to keep going.
“We have cats, and we have dogs,” she says. “So it’s not like I didn’t have other beings in my life, but [the chickens] really required me to go to them, which meant I had to be intentional about doing that. I would go out and sit outside with them and just be there, because otherwise, I would just go back to bed and sleep the whole time. They were motivators for me to stay engaged with life a little bit.”
Going outside and being with her chickens was one of the few things during a chaotic and frightening time that she had control over. Every time she went outside to spend time with them, she regained agency in her life, little by little.
Bailey’s story helped reinforce for her the reasons why she believes in the power of animal-assisted therapy. In her therapy practice and in her current role as the animal-assisted interactions coordinator of the PAWS (Pet Away Worry & Stress) program at the University of Minnesota, she had seen the magic that different animals could have on people who needed a little furry (or, in the case of chickens, feathery) affection. She also has always loved chickens and thought they had a special place in therapeutic work. Now, with her own story in tow, she gets to see that magic continue every day.
She’s not the only one. More and more animal- assisted therapy programs are including chickens and other poultry animals in their practice. And as many clients begin to see when they start working with a chicken, preconceived ideas about birds are starting to fly the coop.
Chickens Can Make a Change
According to the American Psychological Association, animal-assisted therapy is “the therapeutic use of pets to enhance individuals’ physical, social, emotional or cognitive functioning. Animal-assisted therapy may be used, for example, to help people receive and give affection, especially in developing communication and social skills.”
Any animal can be used in animal-assisted therapy, but dogs and horses are the reigning favorites in the mental health kingdom. At Animal Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado (AATPC), therapists work alongside 11 species of animals—including chickens—on a 3 1/2-acre ranch in suburban Arvada, Colorado, to serve anyone who can benefit from the comfort…
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