Tag Archive for: animal-assisted therapy

Lola the Therapy Dog

A Life of Service: Lola’s Retirement From Animal-Assisted Therapy

While in graduate school earning my degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, I spent a semester working as a student counseling intern at a psychiatric hospital.  Also at that hospital worked a Therapy Dog named Brinkley who offered a sweet and calming presence to the patients with whom he worked. Brinkley was the first Therapy Dog I’d met. While I had known of working Service Dogs, I had never met a Therapy Dog and was excited to learn about the difference between the two and something called Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT). Learn More...

Nugget, therapy dog at Creative Family Counseling in Louisville, KY

Nugget’s Knowledge: A Check In with Nugget the Therapy-Dog-in-Training

Creative Family Counseling is a group practice in Louisville, Kentucky that specializes in working with families that include young children and teens.  The practice offers many types of experiential and creative interventions to help young clients engage and participate in therapy in developmentally appropriate ways.  Known in town as the “practice with the dogs,” Creative Family Counseling has become somewhat known for offering Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) with Certified Therapy Dogs as one of the creative ways to engage family members of all ages.  While AAT has been limited in the last few months due to the Pandemic, the practice’s two Therapy Dogs – Lola and Archer – and one Therapy Pup in training – Nugget – continue to be a source of joy for clients, even if from a distance.  Marriage and Family Therapist Associate Leslie Cashion and her Therapy Partner, Nugget sat down for a little checkin to give us an update on Nugget’s certification training as a Therapy Dog as well as some other topics such as working from home.

Leslie: (calling from her office chair) Nugget, c’mere buddy! I know you really want to finish tearing up that new dog stuffy to spread fluff all over the office, but Lacey wants to hear about how life is going as a 1+ yr old Golden Retriever therapy dog in training.

Nugget: (bounding in from the other room, enthusiastically leaping on Leslie’s lap) LACEY! I love Lacey, she’s Lola’s mom and is always ready to pet my soft head or give me amazing treats! Learn More...

Archer provides Animal-Assisted Therapy at Creative Family Counseling

A Chat with Archer: Being a Therapy Dog at Creative Family Counseling

A Chat with Archer: Being a Therapy Dog at Creative Family Counseling

Creative Family Counseling is known for offering creative interventions to help clients and their families experience change and healing.  Animal-Assisted Therapy is one of the unique modalities of therapy available for clients of our practice.  Rebecca Street, LMFT and a sweet Doberman Pinscher named Archer are one of the two animal-assisted therapy teams at Creative Family Counseling.  I sat down with them for a quick interview about the amazing work they offer to their clients. Learn More...

Creative Family Counseling’s Lola the Therapy Dog Featured in Today’s Woman Magazine

Lola is Famous!

A couple years ago a photo of Lola enjoying her “Puppicino” (whip cream in a cup) from Heine Brothers’ Coffee was shown in a Heine Brothers’ commercial.  This past March, she was featured in an article of Today’s Woman, who highlighted the amazing work that Therapy Animals provide.  At Creative Family Counseling, Lola offers Animal-Assisted Therapy.  She is such a special member of the CFC Team, and clients understand the gift of a therapy animal when they experience Lola’s gentle and sweet presence. Learn More...