Gunnhildur Jakobsdóttir

Gunnhildur Jakobsdóttir Bs Occupational therapy Ms. Health Science. Certified PADA evaluator and PADA instructor.

I have been working as an occupational therapist in pediatrics for the last 9 years. First at the Psychiatric Department for Children and Youth at the National Hospital in Iceland and for the last years at a Rehabilitation Center for Children and Youth. At the center we provide family centered services, working closely with the families at our center, in schools and in the community. The goal with the intervention is to enhance participation and quality of life for the children, both through evaluation, therapy, consultation and provision of assistive devices. 

I studied animal assisted services in Norway and have been working with horses and my certified therapy dog Skotta for the last four years at the center. I work with children with different needs but most of them have difficulties with participation due to physical, cognitive, social or sensory demands of activities.

We at the center also aim to further the knowledge about animal assisted services and have held on regular occasion international conferences, Personality assessment of dogs (PADA) and practical seminars regarding dog and horse assisted services in collaboration with foreign specialists within the field.