Studies have shown that animals can help us cope with the hardships of life, render support and affect our physiology, our health and our self-image. They can also help us learn about different life processes. Animals touch on almost every area of our lives and evoke different feelings in us including love, compassion, happiness or hatred, fear and rejection. When we raise animals, we also learn many life skills such as order and cleanliness, food preparation, personal responsibility and devotion.

Animals are powerful allies for people with special needs. They have the capacity to generate change in the process of learning and development. The major difficulty in the various therapeutic disciplines is to establish an atmosphere and sense of deep and mutual intimacy; but with pets - who always receive their caretakers with unconditional love - this process becomes a piece of cake.

Animals can become our best friends; creatures who need our protection and help. They also have the power to affect us. Petting an animal has a soothing influence on the Shalva kids and teaches them how to communicate with the environment. In certain cases, pets also serve as' ice breakers; they defuse the children's defence mechanisms and provide them with a contact focus. In the presence of animals, the professional staff at Shalva can build an intimate and trusting relationship with the children and begin the therapeutic process.

Objects of therapy:

• To strengthen social ties through animals
• To enable the children to get to know themselves and their environment better
• To learn how to treat animals and people with sensitivity
• To develop higher self-esteem

Therapeutic framework at Shalva

On a permanent basis, the professionals at Shalva treat small groups of four to seven kids, who are divided according to their level of functioning. There is a wide variety of animals, among them bunnies, guinea pigs, hamsters and small birds. The animals are chosen according to their compatibility with the complex therapeutic challenges that need to be addressed.

The participants in animal therapy activities become more alert and responsive; they smile and laugh and become calmer and less introverted. In addition, the tactile experience that takes place between the children and the animals provides this relationship with the desired quality of therapeutic intimacy. Our experience shows that animals can touch the hearts of even the most challenged children and open new channels of expression and communication for them.