Assistance Dog for C-PTSD Case Study: Pumpkin
Assistance dogs have long been recognised as valuable companions for individuals with physical disabilities, however, their ability to also aid those struggling with mental health conditions, like PTSD and C-PTSD is becoming more and more widely studied and recognised. These highly trained animals offer a sense of security, companionship, and emotional support to those living with PTSD and C-PTSD, helping them to manage their symptoms and improve their overall quality of life. For this case study, we had the honour of talking to Rie, who self-trained her dog Pumpkin to support her with C-PTSD, and has seen a remarkable change in her life as a result.
“For decades I thought I was just a quirky person but as it turns out most of my personality can be traced to C-PTSD and my coping mechanisms. Over time I’ve become very ill in odd ways and no one had been able to get to why my body was reacting in the ways that it did, my diagnosis was finally the answer to all of it. I’ve been abused in a multitude of ways through out my life and most recently assaulted. It’s left me with a TBI, memory loss, tremors and all sorts of things that have since cropped up. I had tried for ages to seek help, either through Mind, our local Mental Health organisations, and my GP’s mental health practitioner and I ended up getting no where. The wait lists for therapy or local council based therapy programs were so long that I am still on the waiting list and have been for most of 2022.
We are so proud of everything that Pumpkin has accomplished with her training with Rie and we can’t wait to see the continued positive impact she will make in Rie’s life. If you would like to learn more about the Assistance Dog Training Program with Adolescent Dogs that Rie undertook with Pumpkin, please visit their website here (please note, as an affiliate charity, Adolescent Dogs make a donation of 20% of the course fees to PTSD UK for everyone who signs up to their owner training course through this link).
Find out more about Assistance Dogs and how they can help people with PTSD and C-PTSD here.
If you’ve got a dog who helps support you, why not sign up to our next PTSD UK Wagathon in August!!
The annual Wagathon® event is set to take place this August and we’d love for you and your pooch to get involved to support PTSD UK!
This new annual challenge is set to be huge with fundraisers across the UK challenging themselves and their pooches to complete a 9K walk during the August Bank Holiday Weekend – all whilst wearing their new PTSD UK dog bandana of course! Find out more, and sign up to the PTSD UK Wagathon here
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Treatments for PTSD
It is possible for PTSD to be successfully treated many years after the traumatic event occurred, which means it is never too late to seek help. For some, the first step may be watchful waiting, then exploring therapeutic options such as individual or group therapy – but the main treatment options in the UK are psychological treatments such as Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprogramming (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
Traumatic events can be very difficult to come to terms with, but confronting and understanding your feelings and seeking professional help is often the only way of effectively treating PTSD. You can find out more in the links below, or here.