Rounding Up Functional Gains: Group Therapy Goes Western

By Sharessa Gutierrez, MS, CCC-SLP, DOR, Keystone Ridge Post Acute Nursing & Rehab, Omaha, N

Our therapy team recently traded traditional equipment for ropes, cattle dummies, and one very special four-legged visitor during a Western-themed group therapy experience. One of our therapists coordinated a visit from a baby miniature goat, while residents learned and practiced lassoing cattle dummies. What started as a creative idea became an opportunity to combine purposeful movement, problem-solving, communication, social connection, and plenty of fun.

Lassoing offered much more than a lesson in Western skills. Residents challenged upper-extremity coordination, trunk rotation, functional reaching, dynamic balance, motor planning, and activity tolerance while working to form, swing, and toss the rope toward their target. Therapists modified positioning, distance, assistance, and task demands based on each resident’s abilities and individualized goals.

The baby goat brought another layer to the experience, encouraging functional reaching, sensory engagement, communication, and social participation. Research on animal-assisted interventions with older adults has identified potential benefits across physical, cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial domains.

The Western theme also created natural opportunities for reminiscence and cognitive communication. Residents shared memories and stories about farms, animals, and past experiences while engaging in recall, conversational turn-taking, attention, and social interaction. Familiar experiences and objects can serve as meaningful prompts for reminiscence, communication, and connection. These connections are an important part of healthy aging. The CDC recognizes social connectedness as a contributor to physical and emotional health, well-being, and quality of life. Group therapy provides a unique opportunity to work toward individualized therapeutic goals while also creating camaraderie, encouragement, conversation, and meaningful shared experiences.

At the end of the day, our residents may have thought they were simply learning to rope cattle and making a new furry friend. Our Therapy team saw balance, coordination, endurance, motor planning, communication, reminiscence, and meaningful social participation all being put into action.

References

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Social Connection. [cdc.gov], [cdc.gov]

• Chang, S. J., et al. Animal-Assisted Therapy as an Intervention for Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis to Guide Evidence-Based Practice. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing. [sigmapubs.....wiley.com]

• Alzheimer’s Association. Reminiscence and Reminiscence Therapy. [alz.org]