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Animal Therapy Schools and Careers Guide
Find Animal Therapy Schools | Natural Healers Career Resource Center
| | What is animal therapy? |
Animals are part of the American family and many people with elderly pets will go to tremendous lengths to improve the quality of their pet's life. Alternative therapies may provide relief from the animal's aches and pains with few side effects.
How is animal therapy practiced?
There may not be any treatment available, with the exception of pain control, in cases of terminal cancer or arthritis in an elderly pet. Or, the traditional Western techniques, such as surgery in a very old dog, may be too invasive. As anyone with a pet companion can attest, animals enjoy and respond to being touched. A few gentle strokes can quiet a barking dog or set a cat purring. This elementary application of massage therapy for people translates well for use on horses, dogs and cats.
Some treatments are taught in veterinary colleges. Others can be utilized by therapists already trained in these techniques for people. Possible modalities that can be used on animals include the following:
- Acupressure
- Acupuncture
- Animal Communication
- Aromatherapy
- Behavioral Therapy
- Chiropractic
- Dentistry
- Equine Therapy
- Farrier Science
- Flower Essence Therapy
- Gem Elixirs
- Holistic Veterinary Medicine
- Homeopathy
- Physical Therapy
- Massage Therapy
- Nutrition
- Radionics/Vibrational Therapy
- Reiki
- Shamanism
- Sound Healing and Harmonic Medicine
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Team and Touch
While veterinarians carry out some of these therapies, others are practiced by licensed or certified animal therapists who first learned these natural healing modalities for treating people. Training is available at some massage therapy schools.
Where can I get training?
- Arizona
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts - Tempe
- North Carolina
- Center for Massage & Natural Health® (located in North Carolina) - Asheville (Weaverville)
- Pennsylvania
- National Academy of Massage Therapy & Healing Sciences - Kulpsville (Lansdale)
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