Jodi Jarvis-Jarvis Therrian welcomes a very special guest this week. We're in the Muskegon Channel studio for a chat with Cyndi Keiffer. Cyndi is a truly remarkable woman who's taken her love of animals and desire to help people and combined them in the most spectacular way.
Cyndi is certified in Animal Assisted Play Therapy through the International Institute of Animal Assisted Play Therapy. That sounds intimidating, but...it's the big technical term for.....well, here...from their website, "AAPT has been defined as “the integrated involvement of animals in the context of play therapy, in which appropriately-trained therapists and animals engage with child, family, & adult clients primarily in play interventions aimed at improving the client’s psychosocial health, while simultaneously ensuring the animal’s well-being and voluntary engagement in the process."
That's the long way of saying that sometimes, an animal can offer a little safer space for some people and if properly trained and in the right environment, they can trigger things within a person to let them open doors that were previously unable to be accessed. Animals offer a path for some that shows love without condition and the comfort that comes with that releases a lot of internal stuff like endorphins and serotonin and what not. Even a pet coming for a visit to places like nursing homes and hospitals that have extended stays.
It's a fascinating conversation that will open your eyes to the incredible things animals can do and the ways people are dramatically effected by critters that can't even talk. Take a listen.
It's long been known the benefits we get from the animals in our lives. When people are able to recognize and implement those on a next level and give purpose and meaning to the work to impact the lives of those who were thought unreachable, you're watching a miracle unfold. If you'd like to learn more about Sit. Stay. Heal you can visit Cyndi on her FACEBOOK page!
