Day 2: Dr. Lorin Lindner

Shared Spaces: Reciprocity, Vulnerability, and Healing in Human-Animal Relationship May 12-13, 2026

Day 2 | Plenary Session: Dr. Lorin Lindner, Lockwood Animal Rescue Center, California. docllindner@yahoo.com

Reciprocal Recovery:How Veterans and Animals Suffering from Trauma Heal Each Other
Human beings are born with the need for connection.

This is obvious for our own survival as a primarily altricial species. What is less obvious is how our mental and emotional development depends on relationships - relationships not just between humans but also between species.

Most of our earliest memories have to do with animals and many of us have had an animal companion who was our best friend. Being with animals is a primitive joy that harkens back to our shared evolution. We grew up together – as a species and as individual beings – and there is great comfort in that eons long yet very personal link.

Now with the work being done at Serenity Park Sanctuary and the Lockwood Animal Rescue Center we are seeing that the relationships that develop between animals and humans provide a well-spring for recovery from the mutual traumas they have suffered. The outdoor eco-therapeutic environment coupled with inter-species bonding makes these programs a unique path towards healing; not just for the veterans enrolled but for the animals they are rescuing as well.

Working with animals in nature helps our heroes feel like they belong and that they are doing something to save lives again. Doing meaningful work bolsters their dignity and self-worth and helps the veteran feel a sense of dignity that they’re being of service again in such an important way.

When we bond with animals, we connect to the world on a much deeper emotional level. For the rescued animals, establishing a bond with the human provides the groundwork for the development of a sense of safety, trust, and forgiveness and can start the process of healing from trauma. Research shows that animal cultures exhibit PTSD just as human cultures do. This is the path of healing from those mutual traumas.
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