As all animals lovers will tell you, there are multiple ways animals help humans. Stroking a pet has been shown to decrease stress and lower blood pressure, for example. But zootherapy goes a step further, using animals as mediators in a variety of situations to increase human well-being, and it is gaining traction in France.
The Institut Français de Zoothérapie in Velanne, in Isère, eastern France, teaches social and healthcare professionals how to use zootherapy and how to train the animals involved. Founder and director François Beiger says: “When I set up the institute in 2003, the idea was almost unheard of. People didn’t understand how it could work. They didn’t even know what it was, so you could say that I brought the idea with me from Canada.”
Zootherapy, also called animal mediation, can be used to help people with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, mental disabilities, psychiatric problems, extreme stress, emotional trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and behavioural difficulties.
It can help cancer patients as young as three, and is very useful during end-of-life care. “Animal mediation can bring peace to both the dying and to their loved ones – and, sadly, children as well as older people can need end-of-life care,” says Mr Beiger.
Animal mediation can be used to teach non-verbal communication to people with ASD (autistic spectrum disorders) because animals communicate many things non-verbally.
Sometimes, simply having an animal around de-stresses people sufficiently to produce small miracles. People who have not spoken for decades will sometimes speak to an animal. Stroking a dog while learning to read can make the process less stressful for children or adults.
“France moves incredibly slowly,” says Mr Beiger. “It took forever to set up the institute, the paperwork required was horrific and even now, we’re bogged down with paperwork. although all the authorities agree that animal mediation works.”
He says dogs can be excellent mediators, although not all breeds are suitable. Long-haired dogs are better than short-haired, because they look more friendly and are more rewarding to stroke, but personality also counts.
“A shy dog who doesn’t like people or an excitable alpha male won’t be suitable. Breeds such as boxers and bulldogs aren’t suitable because they tend to drool. Golden Retrievers are ideal, but Poodles, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Australian Shepherd dogs, and Leonbergers are all very good too.”
He says cats can be used very successfully but are much more difficult to train. “They will only stay if they want to, but Maine Coons [a breed of domestic cat] are good. They’re very big, calm, and can work well, especially with people who are scared of dogs.
“Cats are particularly good in retirement homes, and in end-of-life care, because they snuggle and purr, which calms people and brings them peace.”
The institute also works with horses, donkeys and ponies. They are chosen for their calm personalities, and generally need to be pretty and quite small, so they are not scary.
Learning to care for them, and to interpret their behaviour can help people with a range of problems, from trauma to mental disability.
“The advantage of animals is that they don’t judge you in advance, animals aren’t prejudiced. Of course, if you are unpleasant to them, they will react negatively but they don’t lie, they can’t. So communication with them is simple, straightforward and direct,” says Mr Beiger.
Guinea pigs are one of the best animals to use. They’re very intelligent and like to be cuddled. François Beiger
He says donkeys are particularly good mediators, because they are intelligent and stubborn.
Humans have to adapt to the donkey and accept a new way of communicating, which can be helpful when treating young people with behavioural problems, for example. “You can’t cheat with a donkey. They are sociable and, once humanised, come to people easily. But they have long memories so if you hit a donkey once, it will always remember and approach you with mistrust.”
Surprisingly, he says guinea pigs make good mediators. “They are one of the best animals to use. They are very intelligent, and respond noisily to human speech with a range of whistling noises. They like to be cuddled, and are small enough to be cuddled by very frail old people and very fragile young children. We use long-haired Peruvian guinea pigs, and start handling them at around three weeks old, and they very quickly start to approach us wanting to be cuddled.”
He says apart from cuddling guinea pigs for comfort, they can be used to rebuild confidence in abused and neglected children, who enjoy having the responsibility for cleaning the cage, grooming, feeding and providing water for the guinea pigs.
“This can help children in danger, children with behavioural problems, battered children, and those in institutions or foster homes.”
An animal becomes a confidante, a comfort, a reassurance, something to cling to. It can help people with burnout and stress disorders. “There are increasing numbers of people with these disorders, and animals can be
a sponge for their stress, can relieve them and make them feel better.
“Every child and adult in difficulty can be helped by animals; anorexics, children of alcoholics or drug addicts, and the addicts themselves.”
He says it always works, although some people will not agree to it, but where they do, it always improves quality of life – even if in extreme or complicated cases, it may take weekly sessions for a year or more.
In 2016, the institute trained 266 professionals (doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, social workers) after 250 in 2015 – showing the sector is developing in France. It is very strict about only training health and social care professionals because the training focuses on how to train and use animals as mediators, and not on the needs of patients.
Mr Beiger is, however, looking at a way to set up a one- or two-year course for non-professionals, perhaps so they could work with health and social care providers.
The institute does a lot of work with hospitals, retirement homes and prisons. “We have also carried out studies in partnership with the French Army, on treating soldiers with PTSD, but for the moment it’s all on paper. It’s not a question of believing zootherapy works, everyone knows it does and we will be doing it, but getting the paperwork sorted is very slow.”
A recent development is working with prisoners serving sentences from 25 years to life. “These people have committed violent crimes, many have psychological problems, and they are incarcerated in stark concrete buildings with grey metal and cameras everywhere, there’s nothing soft or nice. Imprisonment is an internal violence for the prisoner, making them even more likely to be violent to other prisoners and staff, so they become more dangerous.”
Last year, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, he ran a pilot scheme in the high security facility in Valence using Canadian huskies.
“Huskies work particularly well with delinquent and violent men because they are so like wolves. The men respect the dogs. We ran sessions every week and it worked well.
“Often the men refuse to do other workshops or sessions, but the dogs interest them so we had a good uptake, and the dogs took them out of themselves. Working with the dogs diminished the internal violence within the men, and violent incidences were reduced in the prison.”
In Halifax, Canada, he set up a programme in a prison for women, breeding dogs to be trained as guide dogs for the blind. “It had a lot of impact. It helped the women breeding the dogs, and caring for the puppies, but it also provided dogs to be trained as assistance dogs.
“The women were proud of their responsibilities, and also proud of doing something so worthwhile.”
