| Considerable research has been published concerning the benefits for clients and clinicians derived from working with therapy dogs in the consulting room. Little research focus has been placed on the therapist's personal transformation during the training of a canine companion for pet therapy certification. Using both alchemical hermeneutical and heuristic methodologies, this thesis focuses on the author's personal growth while training her Standard Poodle for certification over the course of a year, with the goal of eventually practicing together as cotherapists. A review of literature from the areas of depth psychology and Animal Assisted Therapy supports the author's perspective on the training process by exploring themes relating the human-dog bond to mythology and attachment theories. The thesis also discusses the challenge of letting go of perfectionist behavior, in exchange for imperfect, but good enough, dog-handling skills. |
