Animal Assisted Therapy

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.

Florence Nightingale was the first person to recognize the therapeutic potential of animals in the late 1800s. Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing which enabled her to make such discoveries by observing the impact animals had on her medical patients. She discovered that the company of a small pet reduced anxiety in children and adults that resided in psychiatric institutions and recorded her findings in her book “Notes on Nursing”. With Nightingale’s involuntary record of these human-animal interactions, animal-assisted therapy approaches began to flourish.

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.

Animal-based therapy provides many benefits for individuals with a disability. When assisting individuals with disabilities it is important to consider all options that will help them achieve the most success in life. Deciding which therapies to use is often difficult and should be decided on by the individual, their doctors, therapist, and family. Any drawbacks will need to be weighed against the advantages to ensure the course of treatment will be effective and appropriate for the individual. Revisions may need to be considered for the patient along the treatment path. Of the many types of therapies available, it is important to look at the benefits of animal assisted therapy. Individuals with disabilities who are routinely engaged in companion animal therapy develop a greater range of social skills than those who are not involved in any form of therapeutic animal-based therapy.

With limited empirical research supporting the use and effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy, it is reasonable to suggest that the costs of implementing AAT into occupational therapy are not worth the benefits. Occupational therapy modalities are already effective at treating patients with many different disabilities and/or disorders—integrating a new type of therapy into occupational therapy is less convenient and more expensive than leaving an already effective therapy as is.

I think that the Goerlich community itself could do more to benefit from cypress and should try to engage him more with a structured program in order to get the most out of him being at the facility. Additional client outcomes you could expect from this program is increased self of independence and self esteem if you are giving the clients a sense of role to play and allow them to feel needed by taking care of the dog. Taking care of the dog could include the simple task of feeding him everyday or even brushing him. Other outcomes could include an increase in sense of companionship and decrease in loneliness and increased social interaction. Based off of this study as well as my own experience of living with a dog my entire life, I believe that AAT intervention is a worthy program for a client to participate in. I believe that this is a worthy program as in short it can show an increase in overall quality of life. Although AAT could be used in other professions for practice with ADL’s outcomes specific to this program outcomes we would see as RT’s could include those in addition to increase in self esteem and the feeling of needing to be

Animal assisted therapy includes all psychological theories and incorporates animals, such as dogs or horses, into a therapeutic treatment plan. It is used to enhance and complement traditional therapy methods, but it is not done by itself. Animal assisted therapy has been effectively used in individuals with autism, medical conditions, and trauma survivors. It may also be implemented for people with psychological disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, and addiction. Depending on the type of therapy and the type of animal involved, you may keep the therapy animal at home and with you throughout the day for emotional support, or you might learn to ride and care for a therapy horse that is kept at an equestrian facility. Afterwards, you

Most people believe that AAT only helps with mental disorders; however, according to research, AAT certified animals can also serve as emotional support animals which greatly helps physical disorders such as cancer and addiction. Research done by psychologists could be used to better train animals who will become certified for AAT. In addition, medical professionals could use this research to be able to better prescribe AAT to patients who need it. It is important for the public to be made aware of the multiple benefits of AAT so that it can have a better chance of being implemented in the federal budget. Research towards AAT is important as it can potentially serve as a natural alternative to pharmaceutical drugs. Moreover, the research can help provide psychologists a better understanding of the link between animal and human communication. AAT is now currently regulated by Pet Partners, formerly known as

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic,

In the study about stockbrokers, it was documented that the emotion value of having a pet, had a more beneficial outcome for hypertensive patients, than medication alone ("Dog World" 2000). Both the article and the video discuss the different ways that animals can affect a human’s health and how Animal Assisted Therapy can be used in conjunction with medication or as a sole

Animal assisted therapy is a highly productive form of cognitive therapy that strives to reduce an individuals stress levels and increase their mental and physical health in the form of companionship. Famous psychologist Sigmund Freud theorized from early on that the presence of his dog during psychoanalysis sessions significantly improved the patient’s mood and comfortability. According to research from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, animal companionship has been seen to lower a person’s heart rate, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Bonding annually with over 80,000 people, the organization visits various places such as; hospitals, nursing homes, youth facilities, convalescent homes, and developmentally disabled centers.

I am debating between two different research questions. The first one is, “Are there health benefits from owning a pet?” and the second one is “ How are pets being used for therapeutic needs and is this reliable?” I have always been interested in animals since I was a little girl. Besides my love for dance, my affinity for animals is just as great. My ultimate goal is to go to vet school, hopefully at The University of Florida, and then eventually own my own general practice clinic. My family has always had some sort of pet in the household as my brother and I were growing up. The pets include: a Bichon, German Shepard, and a Yorkshire Terrier. Throughout my years of having a pet it has become apparent to me that I am a much calmer and happier

Animal assisted therapy is based upon biophilia hypothesis. This basically states the relationship between animals and humans long ago. Because humans sometimes depended on animals for survival, when we see an animal rest, it signals the human that they too can be calm and rest. Due to this hypothesis based therapy, animals who simply rest upon the patient’s beds, give the individual a will to

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 medical department at the University of Pittsburgh developed an “animal-assisted therapy” study using dogs. The dogs were trained to help the patient and the