A new clinic inaugurated over the weekend in the city of Cluj-Napoca, in Romania’s Transylvania region, uses animal-assisted therapy to provide comfort and motivation to both children and adults through the assistance of therapy dogs, local Mediafax reported.

This is the first such clinic in Romania. It opened on Saturday, February 22, and uses seven therapy dogs.

“We opened the first standard therapy and animal-assisted therapy clinic in Romania where we offer psychological services, cognitive behavioral therapy, speech therapy. Animal-assisted therapy is standard therapy but the session also includes a therapy dog used in various games and activities to help the beneficiary, to motivate him to reach the therapeutic goals,” psychotherapist Andra Diaconu, the clinic’s founder, explained.

The new clinic aims to help children with disabilities or diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, but also adults with disabilities or patients suffering from emotional disorders such as depression, anxiety or panic attacks.

An animal-assisted therapy session lasts 50 minutes, and the specialists determine, following the beneficiary's evaluation, the number of sessions, their duration and frequency per week.

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