Bowie is a professionally trained therapy dog. She works alongside our clinical psychologist Natasha Roughan, typically on a Monday and Wednesday. Together, Bowie and Natasha are able to provide animal-assisted therapy (AAT). Bowie has completed an intensive course through Therapy Dogs Australia certifying her as a professional therapy dog. She has participated in high-level obedience and behaviour shaping, making her suitable to bring into the OCD Clinic. She is reassessed annually. Bowie is an almost three-year-old golden retriver. She was born in New Zealand and moved to Brisbane when she was one year old. Bowie is a very social girl. She loves humans, especially children. Bowie will always greet you with a golden smile and be ready for a pat. She is a sweet, gentle and affectionate girl with a little bit of sass.

What is Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention where Natasha
incorporates Bowie, who has completed specialist training and assessment, into her scope of practice as a clinical psychologist to support you in achieving your therapeutic goals.
Bowie may assist you in developing and working through exposure hierarchies, teaching self-regulation strategies, practising social skills, and teaching behaviour modification and self-control among other things. Sometimes the therapy dogs’ job is just to make the person smile, and feel welcome and comfortable within their session.

Over the years research has increasingly shown the positive impact that animals have in therapeutic settings. Some of these benefits are listed below:

• As animals are non-judgemental and provide unconditional love, they assist in increasing engagement and rapport between the therapist and the client.
• The presence of a therapy dog can act as an intrinsic motivator to engage in therapeutic services.
• Incorporating a therapy dog in sessions can reduce anxiety, improve mood and facilitate relaxation for the client.
• Therapy dogs can increase social communication and interaction. It is often easier for an individual with social difficulties to engage with a dog. Unlike humans, dogs communicate solely through body language and not the unique and often confusing mix of verbal, subtle facial and body cues, and underlying social rules.
• For children on the autism spectrum, the inclusion of a therapy dog can result in increased social behaviours such as eye contact and smiling, as well as a decrease in behaviours such as aggression.
• Animals also have the unique ability to provide immediate feedback regarding a person’s mood, behaviour and method of communication.