The Family Journal

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Animal-Assisted Play Therapy: An Interview With Rise VanFleet

Catherine Ford Sori and Jessica Ciastko Hughes
The Family Journal 2014 22: 350
DOI: 10.1177/1066480714534394
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Interview

Animal-Assisted Play Therapy:

An Interview With Rise VanFleet

The Family Journal: Counseling and

Therapy for Couples and Families
2014, Vol. 22(3) 350-356
The Author(s) 2014
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1066480714534394
tfj.sagepub.com

Catherine Ford Sori1 and Jessica Ciastko Hughes2

Abstract
Rise VanFleet is a well-known family therapist who is a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania, and a leading expert in Filial Therapy,
having studied with the founders and creators, Bernard and Louise Guerney. She is also a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor
and a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant. In this telephone interview, VanFleet discusses her involvement in animal-assisted
play therapy (AAPT), her research, and the training methods she has developed. She is a prolific author and conducts trainings
throughout the globe in both filial therapy and AAPT.
Keywords
animal-assisted therapy, play therapy, equine therapy, animal-assisted play therapy

Sori: Good morning, Rise! I appreciate this opportunity to

talk about your work. To start, could you share a bit about
your work in filial therapy, as well as in animal-assisted
play therapy (AAPT)?
VanFleet: OK, sure. Ive studied filial therapy with its founders and creators, Bernard and Louise Guerney, and have
been involved in using it, teaching it, and writing about it
ever since the early 80s. I am really impressed with how well
it works with families. Ive never seen another intervention
for families with younger children that has worked as well,
because it is truly a blend of family therapy and play therapy.
On the animal side of things, Im very involved in AAPT,
which actually has some similarities with filial therapy. In
both, we use play as the primary way of communicating and
working through problems with children in a therapeutic
settingin a therapeutic way, with therapeutic goals. Then
we add in an animal that helps us in a variety of ways to reach
those goals. It is really a combination of Animal-Assisted
Therapy and play therapy. We keep the interactions very
playful and light because that adds to the emotional safety
for kids, but at the same time were trying to accomplish
therapeutic goals.
When I began getting into animal-assisted play therapy
(AAPT), I realized that even though I had spent my life with
animals, I needed to know more. I have been studying
animal-related topics for 20 years, but I really became
immersed in it 10 years ago, where Ive been studying dog
behavior, socialization, and training. That is how I ended
up becoming a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant. Mostly,
I train other mental health professionals. I have a small practice where I still see child and family therapy clients, and I do
a lot of writing and teaching. I also provide direct services to
families, usually those with children, when they are having
behavior problems with their dogs.

Sori: So incorporating an animal in play therapy helps you

meet therapeutic goals. You have certainly contributed to the
field with your work in the filial therapy, and now also for
AAPT.
VanFleet: Ive been really lucky. Ive had the great honor
and fun opportunity to travel all over the world and provide
trainings in filial therapy. In the last several years, AAPT
training has become more of an international venture, too.
I have a coleader from the U.K., Tracie Faa-Thompson
(VanFleet & Faa-Thompson, 2010), who is a play therapist
and horse specialist. She is amazing with horses and we do
workshops in the U.K., Europe, and here in the U.S.
Sori: That is excellent. I think many people are aware of
animal-assisted activities, where a dog might go into a
nursing home, or a hospital or a library, but they might not
be familiar with Animal-Assisted Play Therapy. Could you
explain the difference between the two?
VanFleet: Yes. That sometimes gets confusing because of
the way the terms are used. The Pet Partners Program (that
was formerly the Delta Society), has definitions of AnimalAssisted Activities and Animal-Assisted Therapy, and then
Ill share what Im doing, which is a little bit different.
Animal-Assisted Activities are programs where you dont
necessarily have a licensed professional involved, but people
do have training and they take their dogs into the places like

Division of Psychology and Counseling, Governors State University,

University Park, IL, USA
2
Capella University, Michigan City, IN, USA
Corresponding Author:
Catherine Ford Sori, Division of Psychology and Counseling, Governors State
University, University Park, IL, USA.
Email: csori@govst.edu

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351

you mentioned: hospitals, nursing homes, visitation programs,

which are wonderful programs. Animal-assisted therapy
(AAT), technically, is the involvement of an appropriately
credentialed and trained professional who works toward therapeutic goals. That could be a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychotherapist, a counselor, or a speech
and hearing therapist. Those kinds of professionals might be
able to involve a dog or other animals to assist them in their
work. Aubrey Fine is a psychologist who has been instrumental in AAT, and Cindy Chandler has been at the forefront in
the American Counseling Association (ACA) in developing
Animal-Assisted Therapy in the counseling field.
My interests lie in animal-assisted play therapy. What is
different from other forms of animal-assisted therapy is the
play therapy component. We are trying to create a playful
atmosphere, using animalhuman play interactions as part of
the therapy. We facilitate it in a way that is consistent with
play therapy, but everything is a little bit lighter. Playfulness
is an important component for creating that emotional safety.
Often when we think of traditional animal-assisted therapy, we
have dogs who are a little bit quieter. In AAPT, we can use
dogs who are a bit more jazzed up because we are doing play
activities indoors and sometimes outdoors. So we want dogs
who are playful and really enjoy interacting with people. This
is probably true of animal-assisted therapy, but the playful part
is very important to us. We want nice stable animals who are
willing to engage in lots of play.
Sori: So the animals have to be people-friendly?
VanFleet: Yes, and I think thats probably true of all animal
therapies, but this goes a little bit beyond that. If we start
playing a hide-and-seek game, we want the dogs to be interested enough that theyll go look for the child. You want
some of that to be a natural interest (even though we could
probably use treats to build that interest), but we want
animals that genuinely seek out play and interaction with
kids or adults. While we use AAPT with children, it is actually very appropriate throughout the life span because we all
could do with a little bit of lightness in our lives. It helps us
step back and see our problems more clearly and be able to
work them through a little bit better.
Sori: Oh, thats so true. So the animals have to be willing to
engage in play?
VanFleet: Yes, for the most part you want playful animals.
One of the things we do is to create a playful, lighter tone
in the session, because we know when we try to talk seriously
to the kids we often dont get to the real root of things.
Children can sometimes resist that, or they just dont have the
capacity yet to talk in an abstract way about their problems.
But we often see them playing about their problems. There
are a number of different ways we can use this playfulness,
but certainly having an animal who is willing to play is an
important piece of it.
Sori: Excellent, and thank you for clarifying that. In your book,
Play Therapy with Kids and Canines (2008), you discussed
the rationale for AAPT, and I wonder if you could talk about
that and what some of the principles are behind the approach?
VanFleet: Yes. Basically there are a few different aspects to
how we think about doing AAPT. One of the things that is

important is that we need to consider the animals welfare

just as were thinking about the welfare of our clients.
Because the animals are being conscripted into this, we really
have to be aware of whether or not they enjoy what weve
asked them to do, or if they are just tolerating it. The rationale
is that children relate quite readily to animals. Gail Melson
at Purdue University has written a great deal about how
important animals are to children. Mary Renck Jalongo
commented, Companion animals should matter to educators, if for no other reason than that they matter so much
to children (2004, p. 17). That should be true of counselors
and therapists as well. Kids naturally gravitate toward animals unless theyve learned to be afraid of them. The
animals provide whats called a social lubricant effect, in
that, if a client of any age finds it difficult to trust other
humans, they might be able to relate to an animal more
readily. Attachment theory is the primary underlying theory
that Im focused on when doing AAPT. Im really looking
for how we create good relationships. Whether our relationships are with a therapist, with our parents, with our children, with each other as professionals or colleagues, or in
our families, it is almost exactly the same kind of considerations as when we are interacting with animals.
Sori: Can I ask you a question about the social lubricant
effect? Just to clarify, are you saying that if a child bonds
with an animal that might carry over to their attachment with
people?
VanFleet: Yes. This can occur when people are unable to
connect with other people. It could range anywhere from
being a shy individual to having experienced massive
trauma. If we feel safe with the animals and are able to create some sort of connection with them, there are definitely
indications that this carries over to human relationships.
Ive seen it happen many times in therapy where you have
a child who never speaks. They might have made some
progress in play therapy, but if you try to talk with them
they just clam up. Then you bring the animal into the picture
and suddenly theyre talking a mile a minute. Theres something that happens when the animal is there; perhaps it creates an additional sense of safety, perhaps less focus on the
child, less self-consciousness. Whatever it is, Ive often
seen that kids then connect to the therapist. You might be
the first person the child can trust because youve shared
your own animal with them. If they like the animal, they
start liking you a little better; feeling more comfortable with
you. That forms a bridge to improved human connections.
Sori: Fascinating. Anything more that you want to share about
the principles or the rationale?
VanFleet: Yes. One of the things that Ive noticed in some
programs, whether its a visitation program or other AnimalAssisted Therapy work, is that the animal has become a tool
to the process, and the focus isnt that much on the animal.
This isnt good service to the animal, and it doesnt make our
therapy as useful as it could be. Ive seen examples where a
dog has been asked to do a certain type of work, and you can
see the dog looks absolutely miserable, but the human handler
doesnt seem to be aware of that. We emphasize watching our
animals, their behavior, and their body language; making sure

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The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families 22(3)

that they are enjoying it. Sometimes we might ask the animals
to do something that they arent that keen on, but its never
aversive. For the majority of interactions we want the animal
to have a good time and to be motivated to do that kind of
work. So the dog isnt just being petted, although that might
be part of what we do, but the dog is also playing and doing
things that the dog might be interested in naturally, and so they
enjoy the work. We focus a lot on having equal and reciprocal
respect between our human clients and the animals, having a
really good relationship with them. It is actually a metaphor
for the therapeutic relationship. How we interact with our own
animal in this process says a lot to our clients about us and
what they can expect of us, and it also models what relationships should be. Thats why I think there has to be reciprocity
in the relationship. Of course, were concerned about safety,
we want to make sure the animals are well trained. The final
thing for now is that AAPT is a process-oriented therapy, so
were looking at the process and the relationships and the
interactions. We have specific goals, but we focus on the process. Part of being a play therapist is to be creative, and say,
Okay, how can I take what just happened and use it within
the play therapy process so that it is therapeutically valuable?
We always have goals; we are always working with our
human clients toward those goals. It just takes some extra
creativity to figure out, Okay, my dog really likes (x), so how
do I build (x) into an intervention thats playful and helps meet
the clients goals?
Sori: Thats a really clear way to think about the process. You
keep mentioning reciprocity and thats so interesting because
it speaks of Systems Theory and how people are in reciprocal
relationships, and this is what youre saying happens with the
child and the pet. I can see that it could benefit the relationship the child has with family members in an isomorphic
wayif the child first develops a relationship with a pet that
often carries over to the relationship with the therapist, and
then has the potential to affect family relationships.
VanFleet: Yes. My own training is in Family Therapy so I
tend to think like a Family Therapist. I think about systems.
When we focus on building mutually respectful relationships with animals in therapy, it carries over. Now we know
animals have feelings, cognitive abilities, and preferences,
so we need to honor those. We are trying to incorporate that
same type of thoughtful involvement of the animal in the
process as we would if we were working with a human
co-therapist.
Sori: So the dog really functions like a co-therapist. And you
make these decisions on a much deeper level rather than just
bringing a dog into the therapy room.
VanFleet: Exactly. I think theres a temptation that because
you have a nice animal at home you might think, Oh, Ill
just take him in to work with me and share him with my
clients. There is vastly more to it than that. We arent doing
the best by the animals or our clients if we do that without
getting proper training, without having a deep understanding
of animal body language and what our animals are trying to
tell us. Recently, I have heard of cases where people took
their nice pet dogs into the therapy room and the child was
bitten; they didnt understand how to read their dogs body

language. The dog was probably giving signals all over the
place that This is not comfortable for me. The child might
not understand that its not okay to wrap their arms around a
dogs neck (most dogs really hate that feeling), but its a very
natural human thing to do. In order for us to conduct AAPT
in a safe, ethical, and therapeutically effective manner, we
have a lot to learnabout the animals, our relationships with
those animals, how we train those animals, and then how we
watch what goes on in the therapeutic session.
Sori: Excellent. Can you give some examples of an animals
body language that might indicate that the dog isnt comfortable or is stressed?
VanFleet: Yes. There are lots and Ill share some of the
really common ones. We are all trained observers of human
behavior and we need to start applying that to animals and
learning how they communicate. If you see two dogs who
are meeting for the first time, often they approach at an
angle, and dont make direct eye contact, which they actually dont like. In fact, sustained direct eye contact is a sign
of aggression to dogs. Or if dogs turn their heads to the side
and look away that might be a sign of stress. Then I watch
the rest of the dogs body language to see whats going on.
A high tail thats wagging somewhat tightly usually means
that the dog is stressed. Sometimes, they will flick out their
tongue and lick their lips or noses; thats a sign of stress.
You can look for whale eyes, where their eyes are large
and turned so you can see white on the sides, which often is
a sign of big stress. The last one Ill mention is if they freeze
their whole body; if they just go quiet, they are probably
stressed. If nothing changes, that behavior is usually followed by a growl, and after that comes a snap, and then a
bite. So you want to catch it early, when they freeze. When
youre learning animal body language you want to put all
the separate signals together as Whats the whole body
of the animal doing? You also look at the context theyre
in. We know dogs dont like to be crowded into corners. So
if I have a dog who does a turn away and licks her lips, and
she shows whale-eyes, and I have a client blocking the
dogs way out of that corner, the context is telling me that
dog has no escape route, or cant remove herself from the
situation. Thats where Ill intervene, to make sure that
the dog gets an escape route, so I relieve that pressure on
the dog. Thats not safe for the dog, and its not safe for the
client, and if something happens, it has ramifications for all
of us using AAT and AAPT. If we miss the signals and
theres an incident, a client could be traumatized or injured.
All it takes is one or two bad news stories that involve
animals in therapeutic practice to impact those of us that are
working hard to do this in a responsible manner. I would
hate for that to happen. Thats why Im a big proponent for
all counselors who are involving animals in their work to
learn the body language of those animals really well.
Sori: So there is really a lot you have to look at for everybodys safety and benefit. Those are excellent examples of
behaviors weve all seen in our pets, but didnt realize they
were such important signals. How would you work with a
child, or teach a child to approach a dog or a horse safely,
in a way that the animal would be most comfortable?

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353

VanFleet: Well, I teach all my clients how to approach dogs

safely. I do this even though my primary play therapy dog,
Kirrie, is very people oriented, and shes very happy to be
approached by anybody. I want clients to have this skill for
other dogs in their lives. First, I teach them how to allow the
animal to approach them, rather than them approaching the
animal. That way they can determine, Is this animal interested in me? Theres a program that you can read about on
the website, http://www.doggonesafe.com, called Be a
Tree, which is a metaphor we use, where we teach kids
to stand with their feet apart (their trunk), and their arms
held out to the side become the branches. Next, the arms are
brought in toward their belly and they look down at their
hands. We make a game out of it. That makes them look like
a tree trunk standing there. So if they were out in a park and
a loose dog comes around and they dont know if the dog is
okay or not, if they be a tree they are much less interesting to the dog. Its very easy to learn. It gives them a new
skill they can use in the world, and its a way of keeping
safe. We also teach kids how to pet dogs, not by wrapping
their arms around their necks, but by first asking permission
of the owner and the dog. Then we instruct them to scratch
the dog under the chin or on the chest, which is much more
pleasurable than a pat on the head. They learn how to stand
at an angle so the dog realizes, Okay, this person isnt
aggressive (what head-on approaches mean to dogs). First,
I have clients practice this using stuffed, life-sized toy dogs.
Then I get a paper towel, rub it on their arms so it has the
childs scent on it, and take it for the dog to sniff, so the dog
has some information about the child before I introduce
them. Even though most therapy dogs are really well socialized, and they know how to do polite greetings with clients,
it takes very little time to teach our clients how to be safe
around dogs.
Sori: Thank you. I just wanted to comment that I love the
Be-a-Tree, and the idea of using the paper towel so that
the dog has the clients scent is excellent.
VanFleet: Yes, and thats a good example of reciprocity,
considering the animals point of view, and its giving them
information. We have information about our clients before
we meet with them, and so I want the animals Im working
with to have that too.
Sori: So that paper towel becomes their intake?
VanFleet: Yes. I hadnt thought of it that way before, but
thats exactly right.
Sori: I know you use positive reinforcement in your training,
while others advocate for a more aversive approach. Can
you tell us why thats so important to you to use positive
reinforcement?
VanFleet: Yes. Were focusing on our relationship with
our animals that we are involving in this process of play
therapy. They therapistanimal relationship is a metaphor
for everything; its a model for relationships, its a model
for healthy attachment. The type of relationship we create
is very important, and were going to show that in our interactions with our animal therapy partners, which our clients
are going to observe. You can train a dog or help a dog get
past any behavior problem using positive methods. The

whole idea of dominance theory is based on some faulty

studies of wolves in captivity. The scientists who originally
presented dominance theory, and the idea that you have to
be the pack leader, have rescinded that. We now know that
dogs organize themselves much like human families, and
the same is true of wolves in the wild. They rarely use force
among themselves. They need to have clear communication
from us, but we never have to use force because force will hurt
that relationship. Some of the more dominance-oriented or
coercive types of dog training use choke chains, prong collars,
or e-stim, and they have much greater chance of fallout. Some
veterinarians have even been studying negative physical consequences such as damage to the trachea. My basic philosophy
in training is this: If I wouldnt do it with a child, I wont do it
with a dog. I wouldnt shock or drag a child around to get him
or her to behave; Im not going to do that with a dog. I train
counselors how to train their dogs in a way thats very relationship oriented, using positive reinforcement methods.
Sori: Excellent. You mentioned earlier that you can involve
animals as partners in nondirective play therapy, and Im
wondering if you could also use them in directive play
therapy, and what that might look like . . . what the difference might be in how you involve the animal.
VanFleet: Yes. In nondirective or child-centered play therapy,
children make the primary decisions about what to play with
and how to play. We provide an overall structure but for the
most part, they are making those choices. Its based on Virginia Axlines initial work in child-centered play therapy.
Its basically a Rogerian, humanistic form of play therapy
based on the principle that if you create a safe and accepting
environment and allow kids to make their own choices
they will play in a way that moves them in the direction
of health and healing. In Animal-Assisted nondirective play
therapy, its often the child who is deciding whether to
include the dog, and what they want the dog to do. You need
a dog whos willing to sit on the sidelines if the child
chooses that. You also need a dog with some versatility and
who is capable of learning many different things. A dog
should not mind being touched and stroked if the children
decide they want to sit and pet the dog. You want a dog who
can follow the childs lead with your help. In directive play
therapy, we have specific goals, we want the child to learn
specific things, so we will set up the situations a bit more.
We can have the child learn to train the dog, or do a number
of games and activities that we set up. So we need animals
with somewhat different personalities for directive play
therapy than we do for the nondirectivenot always, but
often to some extent.
Sori: That is quite interesting. I have a question about nondirective AAPT. In nondirective play therapy, the therapist mirrors back what the child is doing, saying, and likely feeling.
Do you use the dog as a co-therapist to reflect some of that?
VanFleet: Yes, we do. Of course, its really you reflecting
since dogs cant talk (although some dogs are really good
at doing that with their bodies). I can speak through the dog
some of the time. So if the child is pretending to kill off a dragon in the corner, I might say, Oh Kirrie, hes killing
the dragon; hes really going to get rid of that dangerous

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The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families 22(3)

dragon. Youre reflecting the childs feelings and what

theyre doing or what the intention of their play is. You might
do it through the dog, but not all the time; you need to give
some reflections just from you. So I might say to the child,
Oh, youre mad at that dragon, he hurt those people and
youre going to go take care of that dragon. Then I might
add, Kirrie, do you see hes got his big sword and hes
going to get that dragon? So its almost in the third person;
but its all to accept and reflect what the child is doing and
the primary feelings and intentions that are in the play.
Sori: Can you share the reactions of a couple children to
AAPT?
VanFleet: Yes. I frequently notice that they stand up taller,
and they say things like, Im really good at working with
dogs. Little statements that show me they are building
their own feelings of confidence. I often see kids talk a lot
more. I see them becoming more social; they come out of
themselves. I see lots of examples of empathy, and often
it happens spontaneously, where they look at the dog and
say something along the lines of, Oh, does she have blood
on her lip? Or, Is she walking with a limp? Sometimes,
theyre projecting their own circumstances onto the dog, but
a lot of times they really are paying attention to the dogs
needs. The empathy is there, we just need to capture it. That
is huge in this work and I see it happening all the time. Kids
are also surprised with how the animal responds to them.
But the most prominent things I see are spontaneous expressions of empathy. A lot of kids I work with have huge
trauma and attachment problems, so those signs of empathy
indicate this is having a real impact.
Sori: Excellent. Bruce Perry has an affinity for AnimalAssisted Therapy, especially with kids who have attachment
or trauma issues. Im hoping many more people will get on
board, because its such an exciting approach.
VanFleet: Yes. Its very exciting and I want more people and
organizations to be open to this type of work. Before we start
to see more research about AAPT need to have really welltrained animals and counselors, family therapists, and play
therapists who can do this work well to facilitate research
in this area.
Sori: I agree, and can you talk a little bit about your studythe
study that you did on play therapists use of Animal-Assisted
Therapy?
VanFleet: Yes. I did a survey of play therapists and found
that there were a lot of people involving animals in their
play therapy work, but not all had received training. I was
concerned about that situation. In another evaluation study,
we used sand trays as a closing activity with children when
they ended play therapy. I asked some of the people who
have been through my AAPT training programs to ask child
clients to do a sand tray, whether theyve worked with a dog
or not, and pick items that represent what it was like to come
to play therapy. This is a very simple study and it doesnt
tell us a whole lot, but what I looked for was whether or not
the children selected animals to be part of their sand tray.
What I found was that almost every child who had been
involved in AAPT did select an animal figure or two to
include in their sand tray, while a much lower percentage

of children who had been involved in play therapy without

animals selected an animal. It was like asking the childs
opinion about their therapy experience and what they liked
about it, and the AAPT children did select animals for the
sandtray much more frequently.
Sori: That is fascinating research, and very telling. Earlier
you mentioned self-efficacy. Could you go over some of
the other goals of AAPT?
VanFleet: Yes. The goals that involve animals are the same
full range of goals that we have when were developing treatment plans for children. There are five general goal areas
where animals are particularly useful. One is self-efficacy,
which refers to building up childrens ability to do things for
themselves, to take care of themselves, to keep themselves
safe, and to develop competenciesactual skills, such as
planning aheadhaving confidence, etc. The next area that
is extremely valuable is in developing healthy attachment
and a relationship. Children who have attachment problems
who seem not particularly empathic or caring may not have
ever had the experience of being cared for. I think its hard
for us as therapists, parents, or foster parents to expect these
kids to have empathy and care for someone else if they have
never experienced it themselves. In this type of therapy, they
feel cared for by the animals, so when we play hide-and-seek
and the animal comes to find them that gives that experience
of being cared for, and is part of the attachment/relationship
equation. Or the animal may come up and lick them and the
child thinks, Oh, this animal likes me. Part of what we can
do as therapists is help shape a healthy attachment relationship for the child and the animal. We are going to help them
behave toward the animal in a way that is evocative of a
healthy attachment. The third goal area is empathy. Im talking about looking at the world through the animals eyes,
which we as therapists need to be doing, and we want to help
the clients do the same. Session questions that promote
empathy might include, How do you think the dog is feeling
about this right now? Or, I just noticed that Sailor the
Horse walked away from you when you were shouting like
that, what do you think is going on with him? In this way,
we can teach and prompt them to pay more attention to the
animals body language. So looking out for the welfare of the
animal is an important part of developing empathy. A fourth
area is self-regulation. Our clients need to have patience with
the animals, to communicate with them, to plan ahead; and if
theyre not regulated then the animals can become dysregulated too. The final area is a catch-all for more specific problem resolution. We can deal with childs anxieties or phobias,
or with trauma, with anger, with aggression, with oppositionality through the AAPT activities we choose. Ive worked
with quite a few kids who have histories of animal maltreatment. I am very convinced that one of the best things we can
do is to first help them develop a relationship with the therapy animal, and then extend it to the home if there are animals in the home. Once they have a relationship, theyre
not objectifying the animal (or person) theyre maltreating.
They start to see the animal as another living being.
Sori: There are many benefits for children who have the
opportunity to do this type of therapy.

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VanFleet: There really are. It is very exciting, and we can

get the same benefits for our adult clients. AAPT in the
counseling field is growing. Dr. Cynthia Chandlers books
and her program within ACA has been a wonderful addition
to what we know about Animal-Assisted Therapy. Aubrey
Fine has been a real leader in developing Animal-Assisted
Therapy in psychological practice. My work extends it by
adding in the play therapy and the family play therapy
pieces, so that AAPT is more systemic. Theres a vast
amount to learn. People need to realize it is much more than
just taking a nice animal to work with you.
Sori: Thats right. So sometimes you use animals when you
work with families?
VanFleet: Yes. There are several ways that I involve families, which I always do in some way. One way has been
to work with a child alone for a few sessions, where we
might train the dog and play relationship games. Then I
invite the parents in and the child does a demonstration for
them. The child becomes the animal expert, and does a
demonstration for the parents. The parents are often surprised at how good the kids are with the animals. You can
just see the children beaming, which is evidence of selfefficacy. There is acknowledgment from the parents, and
the realization that, No, this isnt just a bad kid, this is a
child who really wants to do good thingsand is capable
of doing good things. Sometimes I might give the whole
family a task. First, they all learn some preliminary material
about training dogs, or I have the child teach them something. Then I might give the family a task such as OK,
heres a new toy Kirrie has never seen before, and I want
you as a family to come up with a game you can play and
use it with Kirrie. The family has to work together to figure out the game. While they are working together we
observe the family dynamics and how well they problem
solve together; how they communicate both as a family and
with the animal and then discuss their experiences afterward. We can do many of these same things with families
and horses.
Sori: Those are great ways to involve families, both as an
audience to the childs accomplishments and as active participants in AAPT. Id like to ask about safety considerations
when using AAPT?
VanFleet: That is a really important question. First, there are
going to be some children and adult clients who are afraid of
dogs or horses. Then it becomes a question of Is it pertinent to their goals that they overcome that fear? because
you certainly can use AAPT to help them overcome that.
Second, for safety reasons, you must always be mindful
of the health and well-being of the animal. A stressed or
ailing dog could become more stressed in a therapeutic setting. So animals who are not well dont belong in therapy.
What really drives the decision is first, what are the clients
goals, and second, does it make sense for the animal to be
part of it. We want the client to have a say in that too. Third,
is the animal appropriate or not? That is another important
safety consideration because involving an animal who is not
appropriate for this kind of work is a huge risk factor. We
must obtain parental approval when were working with

children. We also need additional liability coverage, both

professional and business liability in case theres an injury
or a bite. Hopefully, we are astute enough to prevent that,
but this is not risk free work.
Sori: That speaks to how you must read the dogs body language and use care when selecting a therapy animal.
VanFleet: That is absolutely the case. First, its the selection,
then you never stop watching the animal in the moment;
you always have to split your attention between the animal
and your clients, including whole families, and that adds a lot
of different spices to the mix.
Sori: What happens if you have to step out of the therapy room
in the middle of an AAPT session? Do you ever leave a child
alone in the room with a pet?
VanFleet: I would never, ever do that. I rarely say the word
never but I think thats such an important question. I
would never, ever leave a child alone even with a welltrained therapy animal.
Sori: Probably the same for adults too?
VanFleet: Yes. You might have the nicest client in the
world, and youve got the nicest animal in the world, but
things can go wrong because accidents happen. Horses step
on people, and our clients are not necessarily going to be
adept at reading horse or dog body language, or know how
to behave safely around the animal. So, if I have to use the
bathroom, I take the dog to the bathroom with me. Or Ill
leave the dog in the room if the child needs to leave. Im not
going to leave the two alone together. It is our responsibility
to make sure that everybody stays safe. I dont make a big
deal about it because I dont want to increase clients anxietybut I handle it that way.
Sori: That is such important information. Switching topics a
bit, can you briefly describe your training program? I
know it has an excellent reputation and involves a lot of
hands-on training. Are there other training programs out
there that people might want to look into to find the best
fit for them?
VanFleet: Yes, there are a lot of good mental health AAT
programs that are cropping up. In my own program, I
teach people specifically about AAPT, and Ive just
launched a certification program. People come to the
AAPT Level 1 training without bringing their own animals to learn all the basics with the dogs and horses we
have available. Prior to the live training, they must complete two online courses: Introduction to Animal-Assisted
Play Therapy, and Canine Communication. Participants
learn quite a bit about dog body language, and they practice what theyve learned in the two online components.
We do lots of hands-on activities in the live trainings, and
there are also lectures and video demonstrations. After
Level 1, people do further work with their animals at
home. They come back later for AAPT Level 2, where
they bring their own dogs, and we do additional activities
with horses. We spend a lot of time on relationshipbuilding games and activities that are fun for both trainees
and their dogs. The whole idea is to help people involved
in AAPT to become competent and confident in what
theyre doing.

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The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families 22(3)

Sori: Well your program sounds excellent. Is your program the

only one that specifically incorporates play therapy, where
the animal functions as therapy partners?
VanFleet: Im not sure, but we do have a thorough program in
AAPT. There are other people practicing Animal-Assisted
Therapy or incorporating playful Animal-Assisted activities
who naturally realize that keeping it fun and playful is a
good thing. But to do it in a systematic way, using systematic
nondirective, cognitive behavioral, or family types of play
therapy . . . as far as I know our training program and certification is unique. There are a number of other play therapists
who have worked in this area. My coleader is a play therapist
from the UK who has done this work with horsesTracie
Faa-Thompson. Kay Trotter is a play therapist and counselor
who has done a lot of work melding the fields, especially in
her research and writing about equines in therapy. And I
already mentioned Cindy Chandler, who has an excellent
program at the University of North Texas and has set up a
List serve through ACA. There are a growing number of
humananimal interaction programs for mental health, such
as at Denver University, which are excellent. So Im not the
only one, but I think our program is unique in terms of utilizing a systematic way of integrating play therapy and teaching
this approach.
Sori: This is such an innovative method, and it will be exciting
to see how this specialty develops. Thank you for your time

and for sharing information about your work. This has been
eye opening, and I hope many people will get on board and
obtain appropriate training, because I think it is so enriching
to integrate animals into play therapy.
VanFleet: Well, its been a real pleasure talking with you,
Kate, and I hope so too. I hope this will be something that
more and more counselors get involved with and do research
on as time goes on.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

References
VanFleet, R. (2008). Play therapy with kids & canines: Benefits for
childrens developmental and psychosocial health. Sarasota, FL:
Professional Resource Press.
VanFleet, R., & Faa-Thompson, T. (2010). The case for using animal
assisted play therapy. British Journal of Play Therapy, 6, 418.

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