The Catalyst Refuge is a unique program that teaches relaxation techniques utilizing wild animals to facilitate healing. The program is based at The C.A.R.E. Foundation, a non-profit exotic animal rescue and sanctuary located in Apopka, FL. Catalyst founder Kevin Rose offers the program free to combat veterans, many of whom suffer from PTSD.

Kimberly Bermel/American Medicine Today: Give us some background about why you started this facility?

Kevin Rose/The Catalyst: The Catalyst is a human/animal interaction program that helps people move from feeling totally stressed out to absolutely calm in just seconds. As a massage therapist, I’ve worked with people for more than 20 years, all who have different kinds of stress. I found that there was one variable that brought everyone back to calm within seconds: using the five sense. I developed this program to promote the simplicity of learning to get calm. But the teachers that have been chosen, and have chosen me, perhaps, are the animals. They always live in their senses. They’re always responding to the environment with their senses. They taught me a valuable lesson about how to teach others how to use those inherent tools to calm in seconds.

Dr. Bonati/American Medicine Today: How did you put together the relationship between a person under stress, and an animal?

Kevin Rose: My whole career I’ve been fortunate and privileged to work with animals, as well as people. My first encounter was with dolphins, as a teaching assistant. During class, we were working in the water and swimming with a couple of dolphins. As I was swimming, the dolphins sandwiched me and began following my movements. It was if they were following my thoughts! I was amazed by it. Later, I had the opportunity to work hands-on with wolves. I recognized as I was in the middle of this wolf pack, and my energy raised and lowered, the animals would respond. They would growl and bump me.

Ethan Youker/American Medicine Today: If you’re anxious and upset and feeling aggressive inside, the animals reflect that?

Kevin Rose: That’s right. When I’d calm myself, they would reflect that as well. And that was my introduction to be able to work with the predatory animals specifically. There’s no real filter with them; they respond to the environment and what’s coming towards them. I started working more with them with the intention of bringing other people face-to-face with them to see how they would react. Like clockwork, the animals would react to the stress of that person. I teach this very simple technique that allows you to ground and the animal calms as well.

Ethan Youker: You’ve had a good success rate with soldiers who are diagnosed with PTSD?

Kevin Rose: Yes. It’s been a great time working with them and seeing how they respond to that sensory training. Think about how the universe is based on polarity: I know what hard is, because I know what soft is. When these men and women are trained in this heightened state, they can also know peace at that same degree.

Chris/Navy Veteran who has trained with Kevin at Catalyst:  When I first came to Catalyst, I didn’t have any expectations; I didn’t come thinking these animals are going to react in a certain way. All I knew was to listen to Kevin and go with it. The first time that I stepped up to a cage I felt my shoulders tensing,  my stomach began to hurt, I was breathing heavy, my chest was getting tight and my pulse rate was going up. It was all of the things I was familiar with from having a panic attack. The animal started to growl and feed off of my negative energy. I used Kevin’s techniques to calm down and center myself. I immediately saw a reaction in the animals – I could see it in their eyes and in the way they were breathing. I no longer have tunnel vision. When I first came to Catalyst, I didn’t listen to anything. Kevin told me to listen to the birds. Before, I wouldn’t have heard them. It used to be that if I was driving my car, I didn’t hear anything. There was no outside world I was living in, it was just ‘what is right here.’ No, I have the ability to start hearing noises I naturally tuned out for many years. It’s opened my eyes.

Click here to learn more about The Catalyst Refuge.

Click here to learn more about the C.A.R.E. Foundation.