Gulf Breeze Therapy

When therapy dogs have a hard day at work!!

Chief is spending time lazing in the playroom preparing for the CDC to release therapy dogs to return to real-life contact. We are so hopeful this will happen very, very soon! We'd like to share about Animal Assisted Play Therapy (AAPT) and the special credentialing/skills involved in our work as a CAAPT team.

AAPT has been defined as “the integrated involvement of animals in the context of play therapy, in which appropriately-trained therapists and animals engage with child, family, & adult clients primarily in play interventions aimed at improving the client’s psychosocial health, while simultaneously ensuring the animal’s well-being and voluntary engagement in the process. Play and playfulness are essential ingredients of the interactions & the relationship” (VanFleet, 2013). The feature that most distinguishes AAPT from other forms of animal assisted therapy (Chandler, 2012; Fine, 2010) is the systematic inclusion and encouragement of play and playfulness as the primary means of expressing feelings, developing relationships, and resolving psychosocial problems (VanFleet, 2008; VanFleet & Faa-Thompson, 2010, 2014).

Years of training and credentialing, for both myself and Chief, have culminated in being able to offer this service to our community. Please contact Gulf Breeze Therapy if you'd like to talk about how play therapy and AAPT can benefit your family!

Shout out to for the great pics of Gulf Breeze Therapy and our lead canine therapist, Chief. She is PAWsitively awesome! 🐾 Thanks to for knocking off the pandemic dust and shining me up a bit for the photo op! Two incredible boss babes!

https://instagram.com/paytonandersonphotography?igshid=b4b6lo8kqrnv

https://instagram.com/gulfcoast_glamhouse?igshid=uh1dtdyomgnv

https://gulfbreezetherapy.clientsecure.me

I am very blessed and excited to realize my 25-year dream of opening a counseling center in my hometown of Gulf Breeze, FL! This community helped make me and I want to give back. Thank you to all my mentors, colleagues, friends and family who walk alongside me on this journey. Please visit my website to learn more about Gulf Breeze Therapy and the services we provide.

Kamie Larson, LCSW - Behavioral Health Therapist in Gulf Breeze, FL Behavioral Health Therapist in Gulf Breeze, FL offering Telehealth appointments. Paperwork can be filled out online. Online payments are accepted. Contact us at (850) 737-6864.