Thinking Outside the Box: Non-Traditional & Alternative Therapies
Summary of Presentation
This panel discussed non-traditional and alternative forms of therapy for the treatment of mental health disorders.
Ms. Baker showed a 4-minute video and discussed the three legal classifications for support animals, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how each individual can improve their quality of living by bringing a dog into their lives.
Dr. Liu discussed the new indications, side effects, monitoring parameters and place in therapy of recently FDA approved psychotropic medications. New potential pharmacotherapy treatment options for psychiatric illness were also discussed. View Dr. Liu’s presentation file.
Ms. Lutz presented EFP, an experiential form of psychotherapy that involves a partnership with a client, therapist and an equine. EFP promotes the exploration of feelings, behaviors and personal issues in a safe supportive environment. Horses do not judge. The immediate feedback from the horse presents humans with many opportunities to become more congruent, more present in the moment and more comfortable with themselves. She described the social skills program and the DBT program, citing vignettes that illustrate the interaction between the horse and the client. View Kathy Lutz’s presentation file.
Presenters:
Tricia Baker, CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer- Knowledge Assessed), Therapy Dog Specialist. Tricia is Co-Founder of AIR Attitudes In Reverse®, with the mission to educate about mental health & suicide prevention. Tricia is the Director of AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds™ program which is helping to improve the overall mental well-being of humans by bringing dogs into their lives.
Tricia is a Certified American Kennel Club (AKC) Canine Good Citizen Evaluator (CGC) and Certified Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dog (B&BTD) Evaluator. She and her six dogs are involved in many dog activities, but most especially therapy.
Mei T. Liu, PharmD, BCPP obtained her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy in 2004. After graduation, she completed a pharmacy practice residency at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and psychiatry specialty residency at University of North Carolina Hospitals. Dr. Liu is currently the Clinical Assistant Professor at Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and Psychiatry Clinical Pharmacist at Princeton House Behavioral Health. She also achieved certification as Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist since December 2007.
Kathy Lutz, LCSW, LCADC, CP, TRI is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor, a Certified Psychodramatist and a PATH Intl. Registered Certified Riding Instructor at Rocking Horse Rehab (RHR) providing equine assisted therapies to children, adolescents and adults. Kathy developed RHR’s equine assisted mental health services which include social skills groups for those struggling with ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder and PDD.
Kathy is the internationally known author of the social skills training manual, Horsemanship/Humanship Skills: How Horses Make Us Better People. This manual has been utilized by the University of Minnesota for curriculum development and at Prescott College’s equine assisted mental health program in Arizona.
HORSES: Healing Opportunities Reinforce Skills for Emotional Stability, is Kathy’s DBT program, which addresses problems in regulating emotions, behavior and thinking while improving relationship skills.
Donald A. Rauh, M.D., Ph.D., Panel Moderator
A graduate of the MD/PhD program in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. His interest in research took him first to Technicare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, where he served as Director of Technology Planning and then to a JNJ start-up where he conducted Clinical Trials, helped launch new technology as Director of Clinical Development and received the JNJ Achievement Award.
He returned to the practice of medicine with a Residency at the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Thomas Jefferson University where he was named Chief Fellow and Resident of the Year by the Regional Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Rauh also received the Resident Research Award from the Philadelphia Psychiatric society for his work on “Mechanisms of Action of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Psychiatric Disorders. “ He is currently in private practice in Yardley, Pa.
FIND YOUR LOCAL NAMI
