Animal Assisted Therapy ( Aat )

Animal Assisted Therapy also known as animal-assisted therapy has been formally introduced to the world in the last ten years or so. Although animals have always been a place of comfort for a lot of people, scientists just began to realize the impact animals have on society. The world has begun to experiment with what animals can do to benefit human health. The most common type of animal-assisted therapy is equine-assisted therapy. Equines are horses. Equine-assisted therapy 's impact on minors who have mental health issues have led to a successful new type of therapy that includes multiple benefits. Equine-assisted therapy has worked well in is treating adolescents and children how to communicate and connect with others. Two big issues that animal-assisted therapy has been known to help is Autism and kids with attachment and social problems.

In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.

Medical professionals have recently seen the positive effects animals are able to provide to their patients with mental disabilities. The emotional support dog MA recognizes

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a fairly old practice, but it has just recently drawn a lot of attention and interest. The Delta Society (as cited by Nebbe, n.d.) defines animal-assisted therapy as the use of an animal in a goal oriented intervention. AAT is provided and documented by professionals. Furthermore, it is designed to promote advancements in social, emotional, physical, and/or cognitive operation (Nebbe, n.d.). It is also important to note that animal-assisted therapy should always be an adjunctive intervention and not in isolation of other services (Fitchett, Granger, Helmer, Kogan, & Young, 1999). Almost any animal can be used in AAT as long as it is a pleasant, sociable animal. However, before animal-assisted therapy

Animal Assisted Therapy dates back to the early 18th century. It was used to help the mentally ill patients at the York Retreat in England. They would allow animals to wander the grounds with the patients and it was believed that is was helpful in increasing the socialization of the patients. The first documented use of an animal therapy was when Dr. Boris Levinson accidentally left his dog and a difficult child alone and when he came back the child was calm and talking with the dog. Today animals are being used in many different environments to help assist patients with their daily activities. Over the years, studies have shown that some animal assisted therapy has been more affective on people than the use of a medication.

Animal assisted therapy is used in hospitals and colleges throughout the United States and all around the world . Dogs, cats, fish, birds and many other types of animals are used to help calm people and bring them a sense of companionship. The animals also provide unconditional love for people who feel depressed and alone. Some doctors may oppose this type of therapy because they do not believe that it “actually” helps patients, but studies throughout the years have shown that this can be the best option for students in college and patients that are terminally ill. Statistics have shown that animal assisted therapy is one of the best options of therapy for people who struggle with depression, anxiety, stress, and many other mental illnesses. This type of therapy can also help with physical ailments. Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) has been proven to be beneficial to a multitude of people in many different situations.

AAT utilizes trained and certified animals to improve an individual’s well-being in all aspects emotional, physical and social (Sellers, 2004). It is relatively a new treatment and was initially implemented by Boris Levinson in his psychotherapy practice (Perkins et al., 2008). AAT, with its tactile comfort and companionship as well as a mode of social interaction, encourages a positive attitude and eases the negative effect of living in a retirement facility (Perkins et al., 2008). Unlike interventions with humans which tends to be judgmental and biased, animals tend to be more friendly and non-judgmental thus, facilitating more sociable behaviors than even more than the well-intentioned staff members (LaFrance et al., 2007).

(Introduction) What makes dogs such good companions and comforters? Is it their unconditional love? Their non-judgmental attitude? Their amazing loyalty? Or could it be a mix of all of these? Dogs have been used for therapists for a very long time. As one reporter states, “The use of pets in medical settings actually dates back more than 150 years” (Reporter, 2012). So why are dogs good for therapy? And what benefits do they bring? And what do they actually do? One reporter who works for a therapy dog agency seems to sum it all up: “Science is finally confirming what people have known intuitively for years: therapy dogs help people physically, emotionally, and socially” (Becker, 2016). The real question is: Can therapy dogs actually bring benefits and improvements into peoples’ lives that would not otherwise have been there? The answer: yes. Why? Therapy dogs change and improve peoples’ lives because they offer support to struggling patients, they do not judge people who are feeling low about themselves, they help people see the joy in life, they release hormones that improve our bodies. In other words, “It’s something us dog people have always known: dogs improve our lives, and sometimes even save them” (Geir, 2015).

Researchers have found animal-assisted therapy to be useful for certain individuals through pilot studies (e.g. Chu et al., 2009; Kovacs et al., 2004; Nathans-Barel et al., 2005). One of the reasons for this may be due to the human-animal bond discussed by Brown (2004), who explains that the reason for a human-animal bond is potentially due to viewing the animal as a ‘selfobject’. Although we are not searching for reasons why animal-assisted therapy is effective for patients with schizophrenia, it is useful to keep in mind why animal-assisted therapy may be effective. Interacting with animals weekly is beneficial for patients with schizophrenia who are institutionalized (Chu et al., 2009; Kovacs et al., 2004). However, these studies did not examine whether actually owning a pet is as beneficial for an individual with schizophrenia, and if this is more beneficial for individuals with a lower severity of symptoms or with a higher severity of symptoms. The human-animal bond due to viewing the animal as a ‘selfobject’ (Brown, 2004) should mean that actually owning an animal rather than interacting with it once a week would be more beneficial. However, owning a pet could be stressful for some individuals, especially those who have lower functioning skills. I predict, however, that the increased human-animal bond will override any potential negative effects of

Throughout human history, “animals have occupied a central position in theories concerning the ontology and treatment of sickness and disease” (Serpell 16). Animals have played a major role in the lives of humans in ways that have affected our entire being and survival. Countless amounts of people, animals, and time have been put into bringing AAT all over the world; as a result, five other countries have adopted this form of therapy. The volunteers and workers of Animal Assisted Therapy have pushed to bring an exciting new therapy to children and adults all around.

Using animals as a form of therapy is a relatively new concept and is still being researched widely. The first integration of animals into a therapeutic setting was in 1962 (Chandler 2001). Since then a plethora of beneficial uses for therapy animals including helping children learn have been discovered. Animals have already become integrated into the school system especially in elementary schools. Just under half of the classrooms in one school surveyed had animal visitors in their classroom, and just over a quarter of the classrooms had permanent pets (Fine 2010). Teachers use these pets to teach their students responsibility and help their mental health (Fine 2010). This is only one school. If this theory could be researched more we could prove the benefits so it could be implemented nationwide.

The main scope of this research paper is limited to sources collected within the past ten years. Although my paper is not necessarily science based it is important to use resources that are somewhat recent in order to heighten their credibility on the topic. In addition, the sources I use pertain to therapy dogs helping those facing mental illness, chronic disease, and high stress situations. These categories are taken into consideration because the roles of therapy dogs are commonly used in those areas. Furthermore, my sources are not limited in location. Therapy dogs are being put into practice globally as another tactic for therapeutic sessions.

The unique aspect for pet owners is that owning a pet is an emotion-focused coping strategy within itself. According to the Mayo Clinic (2015), animal-assisted therapy is a growing field in which pets are used to help people recover from or better cope with health problems, such as heart disease, cancer, and mental health disorders. Animal-assisted therapy provides trained animals that wholeheartedly interact with patients with no hidden agenda (Dogtime, 2015). Their purpose is to serve as a companion for the patients, as well as act as a gateway to allow the patient to slowly build his or her own self-esteem and communication skills once more. Furthermore, human’s innate behavior in releasing endorphins, as a result of petting an animal, benefits

“Animals are such agreeable friends- they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms” (George Eliot) for that reason they are the future of therapy. There are so many benefits for therapeutic patients with AAT (Animal Assisted Therapy)(Citation) so why doesn 't animal assisted therapy have a place in medicine. Experience has found animals to be keen observers of human behaviour, specifically dogs. The experimentation with animal therapy was based on the idea that the majority of people enjoy cute animals and by nature they are loyal and considerably one of life’s good things (Citation). The idea of animals being cute and delightful is non-exclusive to any age, race, ethnicity, gender or religion. There are various studies as well as personal testaments that focus on how individuals function better when in the presence of animals. The lack of judgement by the animals is comforting to people. Amy McCullough, National director of research and therapy touched on this by saying that “they accept you for the way you are flaws and all. They are so forgiving and they are always happy to see you. Their behavior is just so consistent and so consistently happy that I think it’s just comforting to people knowing that there is a being there that you can always count to be happy

(61). Service animals enter into two different types of categories: those that help people emotionally and those who help people physically. What are being brought up is Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) and Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), these two subjects are different. Animal-Assisted Activities, “is more informal, takes place in a variety of environments, and is not targeted to any specific medical conditions or person” (Huss 1167). So, an example of AAA would be if you were to take your service dog to an occupation or a hobby, maybe even for a little get together that someone was to enjoy, and that service animal would mainly be there to make the environment a little bit more comfortable and at ease. Bringing animals into an environment that sometimes has to do with kids like reading in a library would help that child not stress too much