Recovering from PTSD In The Company Of "Wolves"

My daughter, Sarah was a bullying victim suffering from PTSD with germ and social phobias. She loved animals, especially taking care of them, but her fears kept her out of school and away from people and animals.

I lost my smiling, outgoing little girl for many years. She was mute, frightened, and withdrawn.

What's shown in this video is just part of the work it took to get her back. I owe a lot to wolfers. They taught me so much about resilience, hope, and how to push my daughter without shoving her. I am forever grateful.

Sarah and I began volunteering at Howling woods Farm to socialize and train animals to make them better candidates for adoption. I also secretly hoped it would build Sarah's confidence, give her a sense of purpose, and help her combat the phobias.

Ishta, the dog in the film, was traumatized and depressed. She lost all trust in humans and was noticeably depressed at the beginning of the film.

The principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Resilience Building were used on Sarah while we worked with the wolfers. There were amazing results. Both Sarah and the animals benefited.

In this film, the Cognitive Behavioral methods called, flooding and desensitization help with Sarah's germ phobia. In the beginning, you can see her anxiety level is high because she was asked to sit on the dirt floor of a dog pen. Two weeks later she had no anxiety and sat right down in the pen.

After a year's absence, Sarah was able to return to school, sit at a desk, use public bathrooms, and more. Ishta recovered from her depression and was adopted.

Update: The trauma of being bullied for many years is hard to erase, but I am proud of Sarah. She's come such a long way. She graduated with her High School class, started college, and restored old friendships.

I love her, all the wolfers of HWF, and the community of animal lovers. You are all an inspiration.

Walk Away Smiles in Rain, and Run With the Wolves, is the true story of how the rescued wolf-dogs of Howling Woods Farm helped guide me through my daughter’s recovery from post traumatic stress disorder.