[ti:Ukrainian Children Get Therapy Help from Dogs]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]Mental health experts in Ukraine
[00:03.16]are using therapy dogs to help children
[00:07.20]deal with the harmful effects of the country's war with Russia.
[00:13.28]The therapy is carried out at the Center
[00:17.04]for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation.
[00:21.56]It operates in the city of Boyarka,
[00:25.60]about 20 kilometers southwest of the capital, Kiev.
[00:31.24]The government-run community center is currently helping people
[00:36.80]who have experienced traumatic experiences during the war.
[00:42.56]Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine in February.
[00:47.68]In the past, psychologists at the center have used horses
[00:53.28]to carry out therapy with individuals.
[00:56.96]Dog therapy was recently added to the offerings.
[01:02.00]A reporter from The Associated Press recently met
[01:06.68]with a group of children who received dog therapy at the center.
[01:12.24]The dog who took part was an 8-year-old American
[01:17.20]pit bull terrier named Bice.
[01:20.48]Bice was kept outside a room where about 12 children
[01:25.32]were seated around a table.
[01:27.72]The children listened to psychologist Oksana Sliepova.
[01:33.64]"Who has a dog?" she asked the group.
[01:37.32]The space quickly filled with shouts of "Me, me, me!"
[01:43.08]One young man said his dog was named Stitch.
[01:47.60]Another child announced he had a total of five dogs.
[01:52.84]But he said he could not remember all their names.
[01:56.96]This drew laughter from the group.
[02:00.64]As the children waited to meet Bice,
[02:04.08]the setting looked very similar to a school classroom.
[02:08.24]But members of this group have personal war stories to tell.
[02:13.84]Some witnessed Russian soldiers invading their hometowns
[02:18.80]and beating family members.
[02:21.80]Others are the sons, daughters, brothers or sisters of soldiers
[02:27.56]who are on the front lines or who were killed during the war.
[02:33.16]When the time finally came for the youngsters to meet Bice,
[02:38.32]they could not contain their excitement.
[02:41.24]The children smiled and their faces lit up
[02:45.24]when the door opened and the dog ran into the room.
[02:49.52]Darina Kokozei is Bice's owner and trainer.
[02:54.60]She asked the children to come over one by one to say hello.
[03:00.80]Bice performed several tricks on command.
[03:04.92]The group then formed a group hug with the therapy animal.
[03:09.88]For more than 30 minutes, Bice let everybody touch
[03:14.92]and hug him, without ever barking.
[03:18.28]It was the first time Sliepova had worked with a dog
[03:23.12]as part of her therapy work.
[03:25.48]She said she had researched the method
[03:29.28]and learned that working with dog "rehabilitators"
[03:33.80]can help children reduce anxiety
[03:37.24]and deal with traumatic experiences.
[03:41.16]Sliepova observed how some children
[03:44.96]were afraid of loud noises, such as a window closing
[03:49.68]or the sound of an airplane.
[03:52.60]After hearing noises, some members of the group dropped to the floor
[03:58.00]or started asking whether a bomb shelter was close by.
[04:03.00]Among the children were a brother and sister from Kupyansk,
[04:08.76]a city in the eastern area of Kharkiv.
[04:13.04]Sliepova said the children had witnessed Russian soldiers
[04:17.80]breaking into their home.
[04:20.16]The troops, armed with machine guns,
[04:23.32]took hold of their grandfather,
[04:25.92]then put a bag on his head and beat him.
[04:29.48]"Each child is psychologically traumatized
[04:33.84]in different ways," Sliepova said.
[04:37.20]When Bices's owner was asked to identify the best message
[04:42.64]the dog can give the children, she answered: "Freedom."
[04:47.76]She added, "Freedom from problems, and happiness."
[04:53.68]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM