Petra Strus, specialist in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, originally from Slovenia, and living in Norway since 2014.
She is currently working in outpatient unit with children and adolescents 6-18 years of age, with different diagnoses, but with focus primarily on eating disorders, anxiety, depression and ADhD.
Petra incorporates AAPT in her work and has been meeting children and adolescents with her Bernese Mountain dog Lily.
Petra has grown up with interest in and love for animals and has been surrounded by animals all her life. When starting secondary school she wanted to share her joy for animals with others and, without knowing anything about therapy animals, she took her gerbils into kindergartens where she played with them together with children there.
Later on, she became interested in learning about animals life, emotions, stress and communication, especially dogs.
In 2005 she took a course and got certified as a therapy team with her Bernese Mountain dog in Austria (Tiere also Therapie) and was a pioneer in bringing the field of animal therapy in Slovenia, working in both schools, hospitals as well as nursing homes.
With years, Petra got more interested in how to advocate for animals in therapy setting and search for animals’ enjoyment and respect their needs and desires.
She participated and got certified as International Dog Trainer in 2018, 2-years programme started and supervised by Turid Rugaas and Anne Lill Kvam, with focus on understanding dogs, their communication and emotional life.
She graduated from programme with a final work on incorporating dogs in therapy programmes with focus on dogs’ voluntary participation and enjoyment.
Petra has newly moved to a little farm where she shares her life with a husband, daughter, son, three dogs, two ponies, two rabbits and to Guinea pigs.
Her motto in life is “Respect every living being and try to see life and world from its perspective”.
She can be contacted at: petra.strus@gmail.com and phone number: ++47 94176839.