Using Non-Verbal Communication and Animal-Assisted Therapy to Enhance Patient Care

Podcast Episode #15

In today’s episode, Brenda dives into two compelling areas of therapy: the role of projections and non-verbal communication, and the evolving field of animal-assisted therapy. This dual focus provides valuable insights into how therapists can better understand and diagnose their patients.

Brenda starts by exploring projections—those non-verbal behaviors that reveal underlying thoughts, feelings, and experiences. In therapy, understanding these projections is crucial. They often manifest as subtle cues, like body language or facial expressions, that can provide a window into a patient’s emotional state.

Brenda reminds listeners of the importance of deciphering non-verbal communication patterns. By learning to read these patterns, therapists can gain a deeper understanding of their patients.

Brenda also highlights the growing field of animal-assisted therapy and she explains how AAT can offer diagnostic insights that traditional methods might miss. Today’s episode emphasizes the benefits of combining projections, non-verbal communication, and animal-assisted therapy to improve therapeutic outcomes.

References Mentioned in this Episode:

Jaak Panksepp & Lucy Biven. (2012). The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) 1st Edition. W. W. Norton & Company.

Smith AV, Proops L, Grounds K, Wathan J, McComb K. (2016) “Functionally relevant responses to human facial expressions of emotion in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)”. Biol Lett. Feb;12(2):20150907. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0907

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