Case Study Examples

“I have learned about myself and how to take care of my needs” is how one 11 year old boy described his experience of AAP with Aurora, the female therapy dog. By learning about her routine and identifying parallels in his own life, he was able to focus more clearly on the task at hand whilst in school, become more assertive and make friends.

AAP enabled one young adolescent to create two obstacle courses representing two parts of his life, walking through each one with a animal highlighted difficulties and rewards of both and helped him to become aware of his actions and the impact of his behaviour. This in turn led him to make decisions which resulted in him gaining more freedom as he became more trustworthy and responsible.

14 year old K was feeling exhausted as she found it impossible to relax and thereby to sleep, she felt numb, depressed, like there was no point to anything.

15 year old R felt extreme anxiety about exam and homework pressures. Losing his dad made him worry about losing his mum.

Through individual one to one psychotherapy, using creative methods and talking both clients were able to:

Groupwork with 10 years olds with a range of issues including: anger, aggression, low self esteem and confidence, difficulties with friendships, no class attendance, with whom a fight would frequently break out on the journey to the session became a group who could calmly and respectfully communicate with each other, work together on tasks such as brushing the animals and sharing equipment when building obstacle courses together. Other learning development included becoming aware of the impact of their actions/behaviour in their approach to peers through their approach to the animals, increased awareness of own responsibility to keep themselves safe, increased confidence and self belief by learning how to approach, greet and direct an animal(s) through a ‘mock agility’ course, assisting other members in the group and learning the balance between self reliance and when and how to accept help and trust other group members.

Testimonials

"We engaged Liz to help our young son who was struggling to express his emotions and feelings to such a degree that it was having a huge negative impact on his schooling as well as making home life very difficult. 

From the first session our son found Liz easy to talk to and at our update meetings we learnt some of what our son had previously been unable to express which meant that we could make changes within our family life to support our son in ways that we had not been aware of.  By sharing some of what we had learnt with his teacher, changes were also made at school.  As the weeks went by we began to see a change, and the once sad, isolated boy became more confident and was able to share how he felt and how the actions and words of others made him feel. 

Liz was very supportive throughout, our son really valued the sessions and we have seen a real change in him and that is why we would not hesitate to recommend Liz and this type of therapy."

"When we were first introduced to Liz our eldest daughter was suffering from post traumatic stress resulting from experiencing anaphaltic shock whilst on holiday.

Liz has been fantastic in helping her getting back on her feet through the support, and therapeutic techniques she has taught her. She is much improved two years on and for that we thank Liz in assisting her on the journey to recovery."

"It is difficult to put into words how Liz helped our family.  At such a difficult time for our daughter, Liz provided a safe and trusting bond with her in which she felt she could express all of her feelings and overcome them.  She has since grown into a confident and caring young adult. 

I couldn’t recommend Liz highly enough.  Liz’s love of horses was also an integral part of their bonding as my daughter also has that same bond with horses and we have found horses provide such a calming and therapeutic relationship with people.  A genuine professional lady with whom you can trust your young family members with."

"I asked Liz to help my son following a sudden bereavement, complicated by his high-pressured lifestyle, resulting in an anxious boy, angry and frightened by an unpredictable, unfair world.

My son felt safe with Liz and respected her expertise. This was very important. With clear and reassuring explanations we agreed our objectives and expectations. From then on I was happy and relieved to hand my son into her therapeutic care each week.

Gradually the sessions became less frequent, and my son became less of a perfectionist, in control of his anger and able to let go of his feelings of responsibility for other peoples safety. He is now a happy, confident, popular young man. He still uses the strategies when he feels stressed. I am very grateful to Liz for helping and making the whole family happier."