Just sit on the bench and watch the donkeys. That’s what the patient wanted. However, she did not want animal-assisted therapy, i.e. working through her psychological problems with the help of the donkeys. That’s what Markus Schnitzler, head of animal-assisted therapy at the Psychosomatic Clinic Kloster Dießen, says when he remembers the scene on the pasture. The young woman doubted that this treatment would bring anything. She was in the clinic for several weeks to cope with severe trauma. She had experienced sexual abuse from a family member since elementary school age. So far, however, she has not been able to confide in anyone.
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