Animal Assisted Therapy Paper

The group facilitator is responsible of interviewing all members to ensure that all members will benefit from the group sessions, and that no member with interfere with the overall goal of the session. The screening of group attendee must comply with the standard code of ethic listed in ACA Code of Ethic (2005) under A.8.a. Group Work. “Counselors screen prospective group/theory participant. To the extent possible, counselor select members whose needs and goals are compatible with the goals of the group, who will not impede the group process, and whose well-being will not be jeopardized by the group experience” (ACA, 2015). The screening and group selection process is just as important as it sets the basis for what the group will offer or assistance the participants. The intake process can offer opportunities to the counselor to be tempted to engage in unethical practices. Extended research must be conducted before selection process takes place. The assembling a group would knowingly support the hypothesis and offer a tainted validation of the data generated.

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.

method of therapy Thrive horticultural therapists build a set of activities for each gardener to improve their particular health needs, this type of therapy benefits people by helping them recover and find their way again, learn new skills, and slow down degenerative illness of the mind to some degree, Nature arts and crafts, art activities using natural materials such as wood, glass, and clay. Clay and wood being the two most commonly used due to their easy workability, Animal assisted therapy (AAT), Animal assisted interventions (AAI), and Care Farming are three types of animal assisted therapy. This type of therapy is usually for children who have been diagnosed with physical, emotional, social or learning disabilities. “Therapy provided through tasks and activities necessary to run farms, gardens, landscapes or ranches is not by any means new to this millennium's repertoire of interventions for children.”(occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com), Wilderness therapy, is “cognitive behavioral therapy to combat negative thinking, journaling to help shed light on depression and anxiety, and group activities to overcome social phobia and develop greater self-confidence, to name a few.”(apa.org) this type of therapy has been around since 1886 but it wasn’t considered therapy

War and combat experiences have a way of changing lives in dramatic ways. Deployments can range in length but experiences during those times can forever change a soldier. For veterans, the consequences of combat can be long lasting. According to a study done by the RAND corporation, “post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression, are specific disorders that have been shown to be extremely prevalent among soldiers returning from combat” (“RAND Assesses Post-Deployment Health-Related Needs Of Iraq Veterans.”). Effective treatments for PTSD exist however, no one method or therapeutic technique is appropriate for every client. For this reason new approaches for treatment are being tested. Positive results are being seen with the new treatment of PTSD called canine assisted therapy. Every veteran should get the opportunity to find a treatment that works best for his/her condition. That is why we need a bill that will help this problem. Therefore, a bill to establish canine therapy programs for veterans in the medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs

For centuries people have known that animal companionship has brought many benefits to people’s lives. According to Kathryn Heimlich, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the first known time a companion animal was used to aid in a therapy program was “York Retreat in England, an establishment founded by the Quakers for persons with mental illness” (Heimlich, 2001, p. 48). As stated by Heimlich, the first published reports of the benefits of animal-assisted therapy come from Psychologist Boris Levinson. Levinson “discovered that he could reach a disturbed child during therapy

Equine-assisted therapy. The use of equine-assisted therapy has been proposed as a method for facilitating positive sensory experiences for children with autism. A doctoral dissertation by Stickney (2010) finds that “the consistent, rhythmic movement of the horse as well as its warmth, appearance, smell, and furry coat sends an array of sensory signals to the central nervous system, affecting motor, visual, proprioceptive, tactile, and vestibular systems that are necessary for development of motor control” (p. 33). Preliminary research studies indicate that the experience of riding a horse can improve motor function, posture, balance, and reaction time. This can encourage positive sensory experiences, which causes the brain to release chemicals

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, or depression, amongst many other disabilities deserve to be acknowledged because of the medical advancements in the past several years which support the effectiveness of service animals. These disabilities affect the everyday lives of thousands of people throughout the United States, which is why I believe that service animals can be a beneficial component that may boost a person’s endurance. In the article, Service Dog Training Program for Treatment of PTSD in Service Members, a study written with the United States Army, results concluded that service animals were deemed effective in their practices. The article reports that veterans and service members had an “increase in patience, impulse control, [and] emotional regulation” (Yount, et al.). As a helpful practice for disabled persons, it is a civil injustice to discriminate against a person with a service dog. To neglect a disabled person’s accessibility to basic public services in modern society is a violation of human rights. I think that the lack of accommodations for service animals and their handlers is an overlooked issue in society, which is why I believe that my research is a relevant issue in modern

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.

According to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014), about one in every 68 children is identified as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a developmental disorder that is characterized by difficulties in communication, social interactions, and behaviors. Though many are aware of the social symptoms of ASD, the DSM-V added the symptom of “hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory stimuli or unusual interest in the sensory aspects of the environment, for example, apparent indifference to pain/temperature [or] adverse response to specific sounds or textures” (Fuentes et al. 2014). Another symptom of ASD that many may be unfamiliar with is the major safety concern of elopement, which is dangerous bolting, that

Several people are impacted by Post Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) every year. There are various types of therapies that are used to aid in the recovery of PTSD. An emerging field of Therapy is Animal Assisted Therapy or Learning (EAT/L). This literature review is going to look at the role of a particular type of Animal Assisted Therapy which involves horses as therapeutic aids. Equine assisted therapy has various conceptual models and factors that can have great positive impacts on Individuals diagnosed with PTSD.

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

Animal-assisted interventions have also been proposed as a method to improve social interactions and communication skills in children with autism. Supporters of animals improving social competence find that children have a natural connection with animals that may help to facilitate communication skills, which are often a challenging skill to improve in children with ASD. Solomon (2015) advocates for the inclusion of animals in structured interactions with the child, because “there are indications that some people diagnosed with ASD ‘are’ more companion-able and more response-able when their interactions with animals are enfolded into interactions with people” (p. 327). She describes these structured interactions for children with ASD through

The research proposal suggests that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) can be beneficial to those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Altschuler, 2018). expresses the information from the media is often much more detailed and less filtered than those of medical reports as they use these media stories as their resources for compiling the research proposal. The author expresses their concern for the cost and timeliness of a full-out research study and so they decided to conduct a research proposal to support their ideologies of the importance of AAT with PTSD treatment. Altschuler (2018) suggests that animals can be used to dramatically improve PTSD symptoms, potential benefit from AAT with multiple different animals, and that AAT

Over the years, animals have participated with great results in the treatment of the elderly and terminally ill. Now, Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is benefitting people diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with promising results. Veterans are the most notable with it comes to PTSD. These men and women share a deep sense of fellowship and believe that no one but another fellow soldier can understand what they have experienced. Helping veterans who are suffering as a result of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder has mostly been through counseling, medication, and partnering with other military veterans for support. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2017) A large number of people have often have been exposed to animals at a young age through having pets, pictures in books, going to the zoo, television, classrooms, blankets, or clothing. Pairing animals with humans to treat any number of ailments is a new route many people are taking as part of their treatment plan. The resent use of Animal Assisted Therapy for people that suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder has been on the rise in recent years to help with dealing with everyday life and recovery. Moreover, the healing process for PTSD has

Another ethical issue unique to group therapy pertains to the screening of prospective participants. This screening is essential for determining the suitability of the members to the group. According to Finn & Barak (2010), groups that emphasize life skills, social skills, development or those involving personal issues are the ones that can benefit most from screening members. The screening process can help prospective members to clarify their expectations regarding the benefits they hope to reap from the group experience. The process can also aid in minimizing some of the complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity that members might have about their participation in the group therapy (Crespi, 2009).