Case Study: Animal Assisted Thearpy (AAT)

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

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

Dogs can help us humans with mental health. Many service dogs are used to help people who are deaf or people that are blind. How about people with mental issues? Dogs not only help us with physical problems but also with mental problems like depression. In the article “Therapy pets and humans with mental health issues” the author “ dog time” starts to state in the 3 paragraph “Trained animals [iii] are used to benefit patients suffering with emotional and behavioral disorders, depression, autism, substance abuse, and dementia.” (2010) This can show how animals can help us with mental issues because animals can understand many struggles us humans have, because after their trained they can not only understand us but also

There is a great need for them in facilities like courtrooms and colleges. Animal-assisted therapy is a common therapeutic method to help alleviate stress and anxiety for those who are going through strenuous situations. In her dissertation, “Therapy Dogs in the Courtroom as Advocates for Child Witnesses: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of Judges' Opinions, Experiences, and Rulings” Paula Bradley analyzes the implementation of therapy dogs in the courtroom to accommodate the child witnesses taking the stand. Five judges were interviewed and were asked for their opinions on having therapy dogs as witness’ advocates in the courtroom. The consensus reached among all five judges was to make sure the children were comfortable and agreed to give animal assisted therapy a try. Judges hope that utilizing therapy dogs in the courtroom will allow the children to relax and hopefully get to the truth faster. Likewise, implementing therapy dogs on college campuses is highly beneficial to students during final exam time. For example, the “De-Stress Study Fest” at the University of Florida’s Plaza of the Americas provides animal assisted therapy to students needing a positive distraction from the stress around final exam season. The University of Florida isn’t the only college partaking. Word is spreading concerning the benefits of therapy dogs on college campuses. In their journal article, “Evaluating

Another concern for the use of animals in occupational therapy is how the therapist will obtain therapy animals (Cipriani et al., 2013, p. 215). If no suitable animals are immediately available from other sources, the cost of the therapist obtaining, training, and certifying their own therapy animal is not insignificant. However, if an animal is available from another source, whether it be a volunteer or an organization, proper investigation must be done to determine the reliability and legitimacy of the provider and of the therapy animal. Winkle suggests that appropriate therapy animals can be obtained from organizations that train professional assistance animals. Although therapy animals require different skills than assistance animals are trained for, much of the intermediate training and skills are the same (Winkle, 2012, p. 11).

Every single year, millions of children test below state and national education standards. The relationship developed between humans and animals in an educational setting prove to be beneficial in emotional stability and goal-oriented support. The animals provide an environment that is judgement free, as well as, encouraging and supportive. Research has proven that animal assisted therapy, overall, reduces blood pressure, heart rate and reduction of stress-related hormones.2,4 The dogs used in Animal Assisted Therapy are certified through various National Organizations and have a predetermined number of location visits prior to receiving certification. The research that has been conducted shows a significant correlation of elementary students between improved reading letter grade and time spent reading to an animal assisted therapy dog. The purpose of this study is to determine if canine assisted therapy improves elementary scores in all subject matter.

Those with pervasive developmental disorders can be positively influenced by animal-assisted therapy. The American Psychiatric Association (as cited in Farnum & Martin, 2002) states that pervasive developmental

Other research studies focus on the ways that animals can be integrated into the classroom to improve the social interactions in children with ASD. The first study by O’Haire, McKenzie, McCune, and Slaughter (2013) studied children participating with two guinea pigs in the classroom for three 10-minute sessions, while having another group of children simply playing with toys. They measured social approach behaviors and the amount of social approaches that the child received. They found that when children with ASD were playing with the animal they presented more social approach behaviors and were approached more than the children playing with the toys. A later study by O’Haire et al. (2014) examined the integration of guinea pigs into the classroom and found significant improvements in the participant’s social approach behaviors and social skills and a decrease in the children’s social withdrawal behaviors. This is supported by Fung and Leung’s (2014) study, which examined children with autism’s interaction with either a dog or a stuffed animal dog. They found a significant increase in the verbal social behavior in children who interacted with dogs. The most recent study by O’haire et al. (2015) examined skin conductance arousal of children with ASD (N=33) and typically developing peers (N=66) interacting with guinea pigs in the classroom. These children were measured in four different social contexts including silent reading, reading aloud, free play with peers and toys, and free play with peers and guinea pigs. They found that the children with ASD had higher levels of arousal than his or her peers, as indicated by skin conductance responses, except for when the animals were present. Children with ASD showed a 43% decrease in skin conductance when animals were present in playtime, as opposed the usual availability of toys. Each of these studies indicates that having animals in the classroom increases positive social

There are numerous mental disorders that may affect any person at a given time. These mental illnesses can affect both the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of people, and even other animals. When the patient’s mental, physical, and emotional state becomes altered, there could be many detrimental effects experienced. Through the treatment of medication and/or therapy, these people can learn to live with and manage their mental disorders, which could lead to a more productive and happier lifestyle. More opportunities for the patient’s success in life will arise from receiving proper treatment and care. It is highly imperative that the patient receives a diagnosis and treatment. Even with receiving care, the patient may still face social

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

Animal assisted therapy is rapidly becoming a new means for therapeutic medicine. Therapy dogs are being implemented to help aid those with diseases, disorders, or those suffering from stress and anxiety; however, many are questioning if this therapy method is a proper program in terms of both effectiveness and ethics. The main scope of this research paper is limited to sources collected within the past ten years. Although my paper is not necessarily scientifically 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.

Not only is animal therapy beneficial for the venting and communicating factor it also aids in teaching adolescents how to interact