Animal Therapy Research Paper

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.

A therapy dog is a dog used in animal-assisted therapy sessions primarily in institutions such as nursing homes, some schools, hospitals, schools, old people's homes, and prisons. They are great for giving unconditional love and gratitude to people, with no concern as to their age, race, infirmity or background. Want your dog to become one? Therapy dog training is vital in that case.

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.

Emotional support animals can take on a multitude of jobs that “may include reminding the handler to take medicine, providing safety checks or room searches, or turning on lights for persons with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, interrupting self-mutilation by persons with dissociative identity disorders, and keeping disoriented individuals from danger,” (Brennan). These animals are often considered pets but are actually so much more than that, emotional support animals have a very important role in protecting the mental health of their owners and keep them safe. Not only do these animals protect people’s mental health but they also give people a purpose. Taking care of one of these dogs or other animals gives people something to take care of and focus on. Knowing that there is another living thing that relies on them can be very grounding and keep people connected to something outside of themselves.

Pets have long been known to have beneficial health effects on people, both physically and mentally. However, for someone with severe mental illnesses like major depression and anxiety, a psychiatric service dog can be a life-saver. With time, these dogs become more attuned to the needs of their handler/human, and can often recognize signs that even other people cannot. These non-judgmental, loyal, and trained animals can provide the right kind of care to mental health patients and set them on the path to

Guide dogs for the blind help their owner walk and keep them safe. It makes them feel okay to be blind and that they have someone there with them. The deaf also have service dogs that help them with everyday activities and take away the owner’s worries. These amazing dogs also bring happiness and lower depression. They love their owners and give them a sense of purpose. People who deal with anxiety are provided with comfort from their service dogs. Also, their dogs can sense a panic attack and will help keep the owner as calm as possible. There are service dogs for people who have seizures as well. These dogs give confidence to their owner’s and reduce seizures. They also are able to tell when a seizure is going to come and provide comfort during a seizure. Autism is another disability that service dogs are trained to help with. They can help the owner relax and bring peace to the entire family. Service dogs can also help those who are handicapped by picking up objects, opening doors and helping their owner get dressed. Overall, service dogs make a positive impact on their owner’s lives by creating a better lifestyle and allowing them to be more

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

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

North Florida Animal Hospital is a veterinary hospital located in Tallahassee, Florida. This practice was established in 1951 by Dr. Robert E. Lee. He had run this hospital until his death in 1988. Dr. George worked in the North Florida Animal Hospital upon his graduation in 1988 and purchased this practice at that time. Their veterinary services include immunization and wellness, dental care, digital radiology, internal medicine, surgery, pharmacy, and more. North Florida Animal Hospital is AHHA Accredited, The Standard of Veterinary Excellence.

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

Earlier this month, Will and I had the pleasure of meeting with Annemarie, a psychologist at Neaves and Menne in Adelaide, to discusss the concept of 'animal assisted therapy'. We know that somehow, animals can be hugely therapeutic. We form bonds with them. Playing with our dog, sleeping with the cat, and from my own personal experience I noticed as a child that my Father would visit the horse if he needed to 'destress' at the end of a long day at work.

An interesting thing to note, is that animals do not judge or discriminate against these individuals, therefore making this therapy a satisfactory option for helping an individual. Animals will be there for these individuals, and act as someone for these people to talk to; which is exactly want an individual with mental health needs. They need someone to be there, listen, and love them unconditionally. Not judge them, and/or tell them what they should or should not do. There are many different types of animals that will do just that, and therefore, ATT is not just limited to cats and dogs; ATT can be horses or rabbits as well. The article, “Effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy: A systematic review of randomized controlled trails”, compared a group of inpatients that have schizophrenia, and found the dog treatment groups, helped significantly improve the individual’s positive and negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia, improved these individuals living skills, and improved their social contact (Kamioka et al., 2014). These animals, whether, it is dogs, cats, or horses have an element of spirituality that is difficult for a therapist to sometimes to delve into because of boundaries or walls that are difficult to get passed, therefore resulting in a barrier for improving these patient’s overall health. A nurse, J.B., who uses horses as a form of ATT for individuals with mental illness, has noticed many interesting things that occur with

Technology does not only affect human health, it also affects animal health. Recently, there have been many news about climate change and how society pollutes the air by the burning of fossil fuels on cars, but we never stop to think about the harm we do to animals. We might not know it but we might be contributing to an animal’s extinction just by the switch of a light. A research conducted by Michael Brei, Agustin Perez-Barahona, and Eric Strobl (2016) gives us an insight as to how light pollution affects different species of sea turtles on the Caribbean. This research was conducted because there had been a tremendous increase of light by the Caribbean coastal areas from hotels and other touristic places. For this research, three indigenous turtle

The European Society of Animal-Assisted Therapy (ESAAT) defines Canine Assisted Therapy (C.A.T) as deliberately planned pedagogic, psychological and socially integrative intervention with animals for children, youths, adults and senior citizens with cognitive, social-emotional and motoric disabilities, and behavioural problems, and for focused support. It also includes health-promoting, preventive and rehabilitative measures. C.A.T takes place individually and within a group setting e.g. in therapeutic boarding schools, special needs programs, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and mental health facilities as researched by Kruger & Serpell (2006).

Animals are known to be a man 's best friend. Studies have even shown that owning animals have been proven to have many health benefits that include but are not limited to, lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, lowering triglycerides, reduce stress levels, and provide the owner with better mental health. C.W. Von Bergen says “For centuries people have noted the animals can have a positive influence on human functioning, and conventional wisdom has long supported the use of animals in promoting human wellbeing.” (18). Research shows that 6.15 million Americans over the age of 15 struggle with mental illness. Nearly 13.6 million people live with severe mental illness; this includes schizophrenia, major depression, anxiety, or bipolar disease (“Emotional Support Animals, Service Animal, and Pets on campus.” 16). Studies have found that while many benefits of animals companionship apply to groups across the board, unique benefits were observed for individuals with mental or psychiatric disorders. This research started the idea of ESA being a more common thing. People with disabilities may use service dogs and emotional support animals for a variety of reasons. I found it is for this reason that all individuals must remember that it is not necessary that all disabilities be an obvious one.