European organizations dealing with animal protection and psychosocial rehabilitation are going to adopt the practices of Feldman Ecopark in their work. In particular, the Canistherapy Association of Lithuania is going to use Ecotherapy in its work after its representatives learned about it during the 1st International Research and Practice Conference “Canistherapy. Innovation method of rehabilitation of children and teenagers with disabilities and special needs,” which took place in Kyiv. It was informed by the head of psychological service of Feldman Ecopark Centre of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Tetiana Aliieva noting that they are expecting the guests from Vilnius to share own experience.
“Our foreign counterparts were interested in the unique methods developed by our specialists. In their country, as well as in the whole Europe, the dog-assisted therapy and some other kinds of animal-assisted therapy are used in rehabilitation and psychocorrective measures for a long time, however, they are applied separately. The peculiarity of our Centre’s experience is in the complex approach, when different forms of communication with animals are combined with other methods – landscape therapy, garden therapy, flora therapy, etc.. Of course, it happens under the obligatory patronage of a qualified psychologist,” Tetiana Aliieva told. “This approach was called “Ecotherapy” and we gradually demonstrate its advantages in our professional environment on the example of our work.”
It should be reminded that the specialists of Feldman Ecopark Centre of Psychosocial Rehabilitation took part in the 1st International Research and Practice Conference “Canistherapy. Innovation method of rehabilitation of children and teenagers with disabilities and special needs” in December 2017. During the conference, they made a report devoted to the introduction of Ecotherapy in the system of medical and psychological rehabilitation of children and teenagers with special needs in Ukraine.
It should be also reminded that Feldman Ecopark Centre of Psychosocial Rehabilitation was opened in 2013, and provides assistance to children with different diseases, mental and behavioural disorders, and to adults, in particular, the families of IDPs and ATO veterans. Since its opening, more than 6,300 persons, including 1,900 children underwent rehabilitation in the Centre.
