The Combined Use Of The Play Therapy And Animal-Assisted Therapy In Children With Early Mental Retardation

Abstract

The specifics of the animal-assisted play therapy in children with mental retardation is aimed at development of a child-oriented relationship in which the therapist enters the world of the child, considers the thoughts, feelings, perceptions and ideas that are important for the child, and through the relationships that follow, it provides a safe emotional environment in which children can overcome the problems, to cope with fear and anxiety, and to move forward in the direction of psychosocial health. Implemented on the basis of Feldman Ecopark’s Centre of psychosocial rehabilitation of children and adolescents, animal-assisted play therapy for children with mental retardation is based on the natural ways in which children learn about themselves and their relationship with the world around them. This approach helps the child to develop respect for themselves and others, awareness of the body, self-esteem, as well as a wider recognition and enforcement of their own abilities