Animal Assisted Therapy Research Papers

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.

The “father of psychoanalysis”, Sigmund Freud, was next to reveal the amazing discovery during the early 1930s throughout psychotherapy sessions. Although his view on the therapeutic benefits of human-animal interactions were not recognized for over two decades after the time of his death in 1939-- he is also a component to the beginning of animal-assisted therapy in mental health treatments. Freud believed that his dog—Jofi-- could “sense” tension from the patients and used distance as a method of signaling the occurrence. The farther away that Jofi would stand from the patient indicated the amount of tension that he felt from them and vice versa.

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.

Nepps, & Bruckno, (2014) and Souter & Miller,(2007) results were determined by pre/ post questionnaires and scales that viewed each participant mood before and after each session to see the outcome and effectiveness. It showed a dramatic increase in mood. It was also shown that that therapeutic alliance is enhanced with the addition of a therapy dog within a group setting with adult clients in a residential drug abuse treatment setting. Animal assisted therapy has also been shown to reduce feelings of anger and symptoms of PTSD, which can contribute to an overall improvement of mood and reduce depressive

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

Questions arise concerning the treatment of therapy dogs when visiting patients and whether animal-assisted therapy really works at all; however, those who disagree aren’t looking at the big picture. Animal-assisted therapy is both an ethical and effective therapy method due to its success in treating those with chronic diseases, disorders, and managing stress and anxiety. The varieties of cases regarding the success of therapy dog treatments far surmount the amount of cases saying otherwise. Animal-assisted therapy stems from the human-animal connection, one of the most unique and powerful bonds man has ever experienced. It is that connection that allows animal assisted therapy to be a critical part of everyone’s daily

One anxiety disorder that contains trauma related thoughts, negative moods, and alterations in arousal such as anger or hypervigilance is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This disorder has been classified to have high rates of depression and substances abuse. According to Glintborg and Hansen (2017), Adults experiencing PTSD are one of the most difficult populations to treat and have up to a 50 percent chance of dropping out of treatment. However, a new therapeutic approach researchers are now exploring is animal treatment. Professionals are establishing goal-directed therapeutic intervention for this population with Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). When being exposed to an animal, studies have shown positive effects in an individual’s

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

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 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 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

Although animal therapy is effective for patients after surgery, it is not as effective for those with mental illnesses and appears less effective than Prozac and other medications. Anthony Watt states (2016), animal therapy currently has more “anecdotal” evidence than it does verifiable evidence. For instance, if someone were to say, “I have depression, but when I’m with my dog I feel much better”, that is believable, but no one really knows how much “much better” is, so not everyone can manage depression as well with a dog. Animal therapy can’t treat depression until it has enough research to support it, but it should be researched for mental illnesses because of the anecdotal

In 2011 it was found that about 30% of college students reported feeling “so depressed it was difficult to function” (Depression and College Students 1).