Schema Therapy with Sheep: Animal-assisted Intervention in Schema Therapeutic Psychiatric Addiction Treatment

Aim of the study Schematherapy is often used in addiction treatment. The question is whether animal-assisted interventions can improve the effects.Method During an inpatient psychiatric stay with a schematherapeutic focus, an animal-assisted intervention with sheep was implemented. A case report is presented.Results After the intervention, the individual mode model of the presented patient shows significant changes towards a strengthening the healthy adult and happy child mode and a reduction of dysfunctional modes.Conclusion The animal-assisted intervention, embedded in a schematherapeutic context, was experienced in this patient as well implementable and impressively effective with regard to a modification of the mode model.