- Children can identify with animals because, like children, they are small and "helpless". The perception that animals can trust the therapist may lead children to be more inclined to trust the therapist
- The therapist can openly talk about all of the animal's characteristics and show love and acceptance for all of them. For example, an animal who bites would still be shown love. Children can learn that these parts of themselves are acceptable too.

Animal Assisted Therapy can help Children with Developmental Trauma

Children may project certain feelings, perceptions, expectations and sensitivities from past relationships which may have been abusive. This can make it difficult for them to trust the therapist and create the therapeutic alliance.

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- difficulty in establishment of the therapeutic alliance
- shame
- presentation of false self to others
- loss of touch with self

Barriers to treatment for children with developmental trauma

Parish-Plass, N. (2021). Animal-assisted psychotherapy for developmental trauma through the lens of interpersonal neurobiology of trauma: Creating connection with self and others. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 31(3), 302-325. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000253

Animal-assisted psychotherapy for developmental trauma through the lens of interpersonal neurobiology of trauma: Creating connection with self and others.

Barriers to treatment for children with developmental trauma: difficulty in establishment of the therapeutic alliance

- shame can often result in delay of disclosing the abuse, the failure to process it and the maintenance of PTSD symptoms
- the victim/child may feel like the shame is unbearable and that they need to hide it from others and themselves
- the victim/child may present a false self to others in order to hide the source of the shame/emotional pain. this results in a lack of authenticity and again perpetrates the lack of disclosure. 

Barriers to treatment for children with developmental trauma: shame and presentation of false self

- emotional numbness
- dissociation may occur when either fight or flight fails to protect or is not an option
- hiding the emotions or the abuse itself from self/others

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