11.02.2024, 10:00
12 Min.
The ongoing crisis is leaving its mark: more and more people are feeling completely exhausted, depressed and empty. They find help in a clinic on Ammersee. In the former monastery they can find peace, gain strength – and recover psychologically.
Kathrin Schwarze-Reiter
This piece comes from the stern archives and was first published on January 6, 2023.
Just sit on the bench and watch the donkeys. That’s what the patient wanted. But she didn’t want animal-assisted therapy, i.e. working through her psychological problems with the help of donkeys. This is what Markus Schnitzler, head of animal-assisted therapy at the Kloster Dießen Psychosomatic Clinic, says when he remembers the scene in the pasture. The young woman doubted whether this treatment would have any effect at all. She was in the hospital for several weeks dealing with severe trauma. She had experienced sexual abuse from a family member since elementary school age. However, so far she hasn’t been able to confide in anyone.
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