Animal Assisted Intervention with Ada
Some of the best work starts with a dog
Ada is my therapy dog and a real part of how I work. A nervous system that will not settle for a stranger will often settle for a dog, and the hard part gets said with a hand on her back.
60 minutes, $180 per session. With Hannah Sharp, LMSW.
Refuge Counseling Center offers a sliding scale. Ask about it on the consult call.
Does this sound like you?
Animal-assisted therapy is for people who know they need to talk and find the talking itself the hardest part.
First sessions are the worst
The thought of sitting across from someone and starting makes your chest tight before you have said a word.
Words come slowly
You have rehearsed it a hundred times and it still will not come out in a room with only an adult in it.
Your kid will not go
They have no interest in talking to a therapist. They might have an interest in meeting a dog.
A calmer start
Ada's job is simple: give your nervous system something safe to attend to while you get used to the room and to me.
- Pet her, sit with her, or let her nap at your feet. She asks nothing of you.
- Notice how much easier it is to talk when your hands have something to do.
- Children often tell Ada things first, and then tell me.
How we work together
The first call
A free call to hear what brings you in and whether working with Ada appeals to you or your child.
Meeting Ada
A first session with no agenda beyond getting comfortable in the room, with her, and with me.
The work
Weekly sessions using the approach that fits you, with Ada there for as much of it as you want.
Checking in
We keep an eye on what is shifting, and on whether she is still helping or you have outgrown needing her.
Questions about animal-assisted therapy
Ask something elseWhat if my child is afraid of dogs?
Then we start without her, and bring her in only if and when your child asks. Plenty of kids go from wary to asking for her by name. Some never do, and that is fine too.
Is this a separate kind of therapy?
It is a way of doing the same therapy. Ada can be part of EMDR, play therapy, or counseling for anxiety and life transitions. Choose this if you know you want her there from the start; otherwise just mention it on the consult call.
Other ways to work together
All servicesEMDR therapy
Weekly sessions that help your brain finish processing trauma, anxiety, and the beliefs those experiences left behind.
60 minutes
Children and teens
Play therapy, somatic work, and Animal Assisted Intervention for young clients starting at age 6.
60 minutes
Christian-centered therapy
Trauma-focused counseling that makes room for your faith, with prayer and Scripture welcome and never assumed.
60 minutes
Group counseling
Small, facilitated groups for adults working through anxiety, trauma and life transitions, and social skills groups for kids, pre-teens and teens.
90 minutes
Ready to stop doing this alone
You do not have to carry this alone or explain all of it to get started. Book a free consultation and we will see if we are a fit.