As our team at Unchained At Last continues to grow, please allow us to introduce one of our newest and handsomest team members: Fairfax!
Fairfax is a facility dog, which means he is an expertly trained assistance dog who works with a professional to help clients achieve therapeutic and practical goals by performing specific, skilled tasks. Fairfax provides support to Unchained clients and promotes engagement during meetings and therapy sessions. He reduces the trauma-related symptoms that survivors experience as they escape forced marriages, navigate new and often stressful systems and transition into their new lives.
Fairfax was trained by Canine Companions, the leading assistance dog nonprofit in the United States, and he comes to us with his handler, Sam, our new (and first ever) Senior Director of Client Services. Sam is a licensed clinical social worker who also holds a masters degree in public health — and more than 10 years’ experience serving trauma survivors.
Both Sam and Fairfax are extensively trained in animal-assisted psychotherapy. In this therapeutic modality, a dog is incorporated into the therapy process by a specially trained mental health professional to drive the therapeutic process in a nonjudgmental and safely engaging manner. Sam has been training in and utilizing this modality since 2017.
Fairfax follows more than 30 commands, and he can execute complex tasks to engage and console clients by following command sequences. For example, he can apply deep pressure at a client’s request, play games that encourage communication or offer a box of tissues to provide comfort and reduce tension.
Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so you won’t miss #FairfaxFridays, where we will keep you updated on Fairfax’s important work. And we’ll share lots of photos, obviously.
