April 2022 – Our clinician, Nonie Griscom shed light on the benefits of pets for your health.
National Pet Day gives us a moment to briefly reflect upon how special and therapeutic pets can be. The human-animal companionship is a certain type of unbreakable bond. Having a pet not only provides us with unconditional love, but has proven to help alleviate certain mental illness like depression, loneliness, stress and anxiety. Being a pet owner is also accompanied by various health benefits, such as daily walks helping to keep us active, while forming social connections with other pet owners. My therapy dog, Daisy joins me at work daily and I couldn’t imagine not having her by my side. Her soothing presence is recognized, as she sits next to patients and senses their needs solely based on their expressed emotions. I have recently allowed patients to bring their own pets along with them to session and noticed an instant shift in their behavior. Patients become more vulnerable and willing to share painful experiences in the comforting presence of their pet. The strong connections we form with our pets has helped to calm us and create a general uplifted sense of both physical and mental well-being.
Nonie shared some articles about the mental health benefits of pets:
To learn more about Nonie, check out her spotlight. Nonie is a Licensed Psychotherapist in Connecticut, Florida, New York, and Rhode Island, see here her full bio.
