Animal-Assisted Therapy

What is Animal-Assisted Therapy?

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a therapeutic intervention that incorporates animals into the treatment process. The presence of animals, such as dogs, cats, or horses, helps create a comforting and supportive environment, allowing individuals to feel more relaxed and open to therapy.

How Animal-Assisted Therapy Works

  • A trained animal is integrated into a therapeutic setting to assist in achieving specific treatment goals.
  • Animals provide emotional support, helping individuals feel safe and connected.
  • Therapy animals can improve mood, reduce anxiety, and promote healing.

Who Can Benefit from Animal-Assisted Therapy?

Animal-Assisted Therapy is suitable for individuals dealing with a range of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and trauma. It is particularly effective for children, the elderly, and those who may have difficulty opening up in traditional therapeutic settings. Interacting with animals can help create a positive emotional connection, which fosters trust and reduces feelings of isolation.

The Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy

  • Improves emotional regulation and social skills.
  • Reduces anxiety and stress levels.
  • Enhances mood and encourages physical activity.
  • Fosters a sense of connection and unconditional acceptance.

Is Animal-Assisted Therapy Right for You?

If you are an animal lover or find comfort in the presence of animals, Animal-Assisted Therapy may provide a powerful way to enhance your emotional well-being and support your therapeutic journey.

Therapists in Brighton & Hove

Browse our verified therapists — many work across a range of approaches and may be able to help.

Robyn Lang Brighton

Robyn Lang

Person Centred Counsellor

My approach is humanistic and person-centred. I offer a warm, confidential and non-judgemental space where you can slow down, feel heard and explore your experiences at your own pace. I believe that developing a greater understanding of ourselves can help us make sense of our emotions, relationships, patterns and the stories we carry with us.In addition to working privately I have also worked with Wellbeing in the Arts since 2023, offering low-cost counselling to creatives working in film, theatre and TV. I am a BACP Registered Counsellor with over nine years' experience and work in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework. I bring a trauma-informed and inclusive approach to my practice.I offer in-person counselling in central Brighton, Hove, and online counselling across the UK. Couples counselling is also available in person in Brighton and Hove. If you would like to explore whether counselling might be right for you, please do get in touch.

BACPRegistered

Rosie Dee Brighton

Rosie Dee

Psychotherapist

I'm a humanistic psychotherapist working with individuals and couples, and I bring empathy, hope and creativity to my work. I am interested and curious about what it means and feels like to be you, and I really believe in the power of the therapeutic relationship as a vessel for growth and change. It is a privilege to do this work, and to be a part of the exploration of your life story, who you are and what matters to you.

BACPRegistered

Alan Sparkes Hove

Alan Sparkes

Psychotherapist & Counsellor

An integrative psychotherapist with 20 years’ experience, working with shame and relational trauma, and with people who’ve had therapy before but found it didn’t reach the root of things.I often work with men who've spent years holding it together, and with women living with the effects of early or relational trauma. What brings people is usually anxiety or depression, but underneath there's something that has been there a long time: a harsh inner voice, a sense of never being quite good enough, relationship patterns that keep repeating, or simply not knowing why you feel the way you do.I don't do psychic amputation. You can't cut off the parts of yourself you don't like, or that cause you pain, without running into more problems. Therapy can help those parts be understood and integrated, so you can live more fully.I'm not a therapist who just nods and asks how that makes you feel. I'll tell you what I notice, and when it helps, I'll gently challenge you, always with care. I also work with couples, helping each partner understand what keeps happening between them.I am a UKCP-registered psychotherapist. I built and ran a multi-room therapy practice in Hove, lead peer groups for practitioners, founded Brighton Counselling Directory, and also counsel with the Terrence Higgins Trust in Brighton. Qualified therapists are welcome as clients.

BACPRegisteredUKCPAccredited

Jonny Lindsay Brighton

Jonny Lindsay

Counsellor / Psychotherapist

You might be feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or quietly struggling while appearing to cope on the outside. Many people come to therapy when they’re tired of going round in circles, overthinking, or carrying things on their own.I work with adults who want a space that is calm, honest, and grounded, where they can slow things down, make sense of what’s happening, and begin to feel more like themselves again.Therapy with me is relational and thoughtful. I will listen carefully, but I will also gently challenge patterns that keep you stuck.I often work with people experiencing anxiety, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, feeling stuck, shame, and life transitions. This includes people who appear to function well outwardly but feel disconnected or overwhelmed internally.ExperienceAlongside my private practice, I work as a qualified supervisor, offering reflective supervision to counsellors and trainees. I have also worked as a mentor for young people through the YMCA and as both a counsellor and assessor for a well-established low-cost counselling charity in West Sussex.This experience has involved working with adults and young people from diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of presenting concerns.I also bring a depth of life experience into my work, which helps me offer grounded, compassionate, and thoughtful support tailored to each individual.

BACPRegistered

Cerrie Lantrua Brighton

Cerrie Lantrua

Counsellor

Clients often tell me how much they value having a space where they feel understood, where they don’t have to explain their neurodivergence or justify their experiences.I am neurodivergent myself, and I’m open about that. It’s not something I see as a limitation, but as something that shapes how I understand, relate, and connect. Alongside my training and experience, this gives me a way of seeing things that often helps clients feel recognised in ways they may not have experienced before.I’m naturally creative and tend to think outside the box, which allows me to consider different perspectives and gently step into what it might be like to be you, not from a place of judgement, but from a genuine willingness to understand.At the same time, I don’t assume your experience is the same as anyone else’s. No two people are the same. A big part of what I offer is taking the time to learn what you need, how you experience things, and what support feels right for you.You are the expert on yourself. My role isn’t to tell you what to do or who to be, but to walk alongside you as you begin to understand yourself more fully.I aim to create a space where you feel safe enough to be real. Where you don’t have to mask, filter, or find the “right” way to say things. A space where you can feel seen, heard, and genuinely understood. 

BACPRegistered

Tessa Williams Brighton

Tessa Williams

Integrative Counsellor

I’m a warm, thoughtful and genuine therapist, working with individual adults in person in Brighton & Hove and online.I see therapy as something we build together, with the relationship between us at the heart of the work. I aim to offer a space where you can feel accepted as you are, while also supporting you to consider different perspectives when that may be helpful.My way of working is flexible and shaped around you. We might explore emotions, relationships and recurring patterns, pay attention to how experiences are felt in your body, or use more creative ways of working where that feels useful.I offer an affirming and inclusive space, including for LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and disabled identities and experiences.

BACPRegistered


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