Wellness Wednesday: Animal Assisted Counseling of Indiana
🐾 Therapy Animals and Emotional Regulation: How Our Furry Friends Help Us Heal
Therapy animals and emotional regulation go hand-in-paw—literally. Discover how interacting with therapy dogs helps children, teens, and adults manage anxiety, process emotions, and feel more grounded.
When You Feel Out of Sync—Therapy Animals Can Help
Emotional regulation is the ability to recognize, manage, and respond to emotions in a healthy way. For many of us—especially children and teens struggling with anxiety, trauma, or big life changes—this can be really hard.
That’s where therapy animals come in.
At Animal Assisted Counseling of Indiana, we’ve seen firsthand how therapy animals and emotional regulation go hand-in-paw.
A gentle nudge, a paw on your lap, or soft breathing beside you—these are more than sweet gestures. They’re powerful co-regulators that can help calm your nervous system, ground your thoughts, and support emotional healing.
🧠 How Therapy Animals Support Emotional Regulation
When emotions feel overwhelming, therapy animals help clients:
Regulate breathing: Petting an animal can slow your breath and reduce heart rate.
Reduce cortisol: Studies show that interacting with therapy dogs can lower cortisol, the stress hormone.
Increase oxytocin: Oxytocin—the “bonding hormone”—is released during positive touch with animals, which promotes a sense of safety.
Co-regulate with presence: Especially for children and teens, the calm demeanor of a therapy dog helps model and stabilize emotion in-session.
This peer-reviewed article outlines how animal-assisted therapy (AAT) supports emotional regulation, reduces stress and anxiety, and boosts overall well-being through decreased cortisol and increased oxytocin.
🐶 Emotional Regulation in Real Life
At AACI, we’ve worked with clients of all ages who struggle with:
Emotional meltdowns
Panic attacks
Grief after loss
Anxiety in school or work
PTSD and trauma-related symptoms
In sessions with our therapy dog Sadie, clients often report feeling more at ease. Children naturally regulate through play or brushing her fur. Teens open up more readily. Adults pause, reflect, and feel grounded.
One client recently said, “Sadie helps me breathe better without even trying.” 🐾
🛠️ Easy Emotional Regulation Exercises With a Therapy Animal
You don’t need a long mindfulness routine to benefit. Try this:
🐾 Grounding with a Dog
Sit beside the animal and place your hand on their fur.
Take three deep breaths, matching your exhale to the rise and fall of their body.
Silently name five things you feel (the floor under your feet, warmth of fur, air on your skin, etc.).
Stay until your breath and body feel more centered.
Even short moments like this can help reset your emotional state.
❤️ Why Emotional Regulation Matters
When people learn to recognize and respond to their emotions with support—not shame—they become more confident, less reactive, and better able to make healthy decisions.
Therapy animals aren’t magic. But they offer something deeply human: connection without judgment.
At AACI, we use therapy animals to create a safe, warm space where healing begins. If emotional regulation is a challenge in your home or within yourself, you’re not alone—and help is available.
💬 Ready to Regulate With Support?
Discover how animal-assisted therapy can support your emotional growth.
👉 Schedule a session with AACI