Our Dogs and Us
Our Dogs Feel Us
We do the things we do for a lot of reasons, but for our dog, who studies our every move, it doesn’t matter what we do, say, or think. What matters is what we feel and the emotion that’s invested in the things we do, say, or think.
Kevin Behan, Your Dog is Your Mirror
These are the words of Kevin Behan, a dog trainer who proposed a radical new model for understanding canine behaviour: that a dog’s behaviour and emotion are driven by our emotion. He understood that although we can be very good at ignoring, or not even realising how we feel, our dogs can’t NOT feel us.
Working with Kevin’s ideas I developed Anubis Therapy, counselling for dog people. Anubis Therapy is unique. It is not dog training. It’s about working with you. Being able to talk about the things that are bothering you, in a safe non-judgemental environment, can lead to getting a better understanding of what is going on in the relationship and may help you in other areas of your life.
I provide one-to-one hour long counselling sessions where you can talk in a confidential, non-judgemental, safe environment, about the difficulties you are experiencing.
Sessions are by appointment, either in person at Drymen, or remotely. My therapy room is ‘dog friendly’ so if you are visiting in person you are welcome to bring your dog.
I have a Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy. I am a member of COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland) and work within their ethical policies. I have been studying the connections between our thoughts and feelings and our dogs since 2006. I am constantly learning and developing my knowledge on the subject.
Before becoming a therapist I worked for 16 years as a manager in the Scottish National Health Service, most recently involved in managing change.
I don’t provide advice on dog training. I’ve explored lots of approaches with my own dogs, and I’m very interested in the subject but it’s not my specialty. I am not a dog behaviourist either. My focus is on supporting you, working on the things that you bring to the session. Together we work to improve your understanding of what is going on.
I named my therapy after Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian God. Anubis is depicted as a half-man half-jackal, or sometimes a jackal lying down on a chest, as in this picture. The chest contains the treasure of self-knowledge. Anubis is known as the gatekeeper to our self-awareness and he oversees the process by which we realise our full potential. Working with what our dogs bring up for us can help us do this.
My standard rate for an hourly session is £45 (pounds sterling).
