François Beiger is an ethologist, ethnologist, zootherapist and the founder of the French Institute of Zootherapy. He spent many years working with the Inuit peoples of Canada and Alaska. Upset by the birth of his son, born with Down’s syndrome, he decided to leave his country to join the ice floe and the indigenous peoples of the cold with his own pack of polar dogs. He will later put his experiences to work for the benefit of the mentally handicapped.
In this article, we will briefly summarize François Beiger’s thoughts through hisbook “L’enfant et la médiation animale, une nouvelle approche par la zoothérapie” as well as an example of the application of the therapy with a specific population
According to Beiger, pet therapy is a mediation practiced professionally as an individualor in small groups of two or three people maximum. It is carried out with the help of a family pet, carefully selected and educated, under the responsibility of a professional, called the Professional Intervener in Animal Mediation. It can occur in the immediate environment of people in whom we seek to maintain or improve their cognitive, physical, psychosocial or emotional potential. The animal is therefore not a drug or a therapist, it is a mediator who allows the link between the therapist and his patient. The animal is a facilitator, who contributes to the well-being of people and reinforces the care or support already provided by educational and/or care professionals. Not all animals are mediators, they require specialized training for several months and above all, without constraint, i.e. the animal must be voluntary.
The animal becomes, during its interactions with the fragile child, for example, the stimulus that will make possible to awaken reactions that aim to improve its cognitive, physical, psychosocial or emotional potential. The animal is at the same time a game, a confidant, a regulator of emotions. The animal is an ally of the child’s development, it participates in the child’s psychological and emotional development. The animal regulates the intellectual functioning of the child. Indeed, it will protect the child from anxiety, absorption or fragmentation.
The population to whom animal mediation is addressed is very broad. Whether it is children, the elderly, mentally retarded, Down’s syndrome, autistic, hyperactive, or socially disadvantaged people, the field of action is verywide. Depending on the population, it is possible to adapt the mediator. The dog is often the first animal to accompany therapists in the field, but each animal has its own qualities that allow for individualized follow-up and care. It is advisable, for example, for motor rehabilitation to work with horses or donkeys which will stimulate all the senses, all the muscles of the individual while also facilitating the development of sensations and emotions.
Example of childcare in animal mediation institutes (A.M.I.)
What form does the AMI take?
The educational farms offer services in the form of therapeutic workshops given byprofessionals. The reception can be carried out in different ways, the child can come several hours or several days a week, or in the form of a break-upstay in an unusual place with accommodation lasting several days or evenseveral weeks. A young person can be welcomed for a defined period of time, afew hours or a few days, but always with specific objectives. The placement (break-up stay), daily or weekly reception must be plan on a very precise schedule with a regularity of at least once a week, but without specifying the total number of workshops. All observations made during the sessions arerecorded on evaluation scales and evaluation grids. These results are then discussed at summary meetings attended by all the health and social professionals who follow the young person. Multidisciplinary care is necessary to assess the improvements as a whole.
How does a young person get into AMI?
Most of the young people received in AMI are followed by child psychiatrists who will be responsible for the therapeutic project. These animal mediation institutes open a reflection on the therapeutic nature of the child/animal relationship.
What is the interest of these places?
Animal mediation institutes have many interests in the care of young people with social adaptation difficulties. Indeed, space, nature, and animals present on the site promote the young person’s sense of freedom: they do not feel in a confined space, like in schools or neighborhoods, where they can feel imprisoned, and which are far from being places of development. AMI also try to avoid boredom and all the temptations.
What are the educational objectives?
The means and methods of reception are different according to the objectives of care. The diversity of the situations encountered depends on several factors such as the objectives of the care, the place of reception, or the status of the young person. These educational objectives can be revised as care is provided, and when all the objectives are achieved, the child can gradually start a new part of his life.
This non-drug therapy is completely new, particularly in France where the first institute of animal therapy was opened in 2003. It tends to develop because of the many possible applications and the heterogeneity of the populations it can support.
Beiger, F. (2016). L’enfant et la médiation animale. Une nouvelle approche par la zoothérapie. France : Dunod
Words we have learned : Schedule, Seek, Regulatory, Boredom, Ally
Meyrignac Nahema – M2 PPCECC