Human Animal Assisted Therapy

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.

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

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).

Animal-assisted therapy is the inclusion of an animal in treatment for a therapeutic purpose, such as a child having a trained therapy dog that serves much like a service dog for the blind (Velde, B. P., Cipriani, J., & Fisher, G., 2005). Animal-assisted activities (AAA) are not individually designed, goal-oriented, or led by a trained professional and include activities like equine-assisted activity, classroom animals, or companion animals (Evans & Gray, 2011). Despite the increasing commonality of animal-assisted interventions, there is a disagreement about the effectiveness of these practices. Supporters of animal-assisted interventions cite anecdotal evidence and findings from several research studies, whereas others assert that these interventions are not supported by quality research and are not ethically sound. However, there is little discussion on which animal-assisted interventions support the most optimal outcomes for particular children with ASD and the specific symptoms they are

Survivors of sexual abuse may reach a point in their lives where they find they need assistance from a professional in order to overcome the trauma of their experiences. Assisted animal therapy has been shown to make the task of having to recount painful and traumatic experiences much less daunting. Having an animal present in therapy sessions greatly increases the survivor’s ability to heal in a less threatening manner. An animal provides sympathy and comfort that are physically expressed without overstepping the therapist’s professional boundaries.

Throughout history, animals have been a part of therapy treatments for many different physical, emotional and psychological disorders. Animal companions are often seen with someone who has autism; however, there are lots of controversies surrounding the types of animal therapy used for children with autism. One of the most controversial topics is Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT) and if it does improve the functioning of an individual with autism. There has been a lack of empirical evidence supporting the claim that DAT does improve social and language skills. Because of this lack of evidence and only anecdotal claims, Dolphin Assisted Therapy is seen as a pseudoscience; fake science. This paper will discuss what exactly dolphin assisted therapy

The evidence based research that this article supports is specific to the diagnosis of adults living with dementia, while it looks at the effects of Animal – Assisted therapy intervention on the agitated behaviors and social interactions of this diagnosis. This article is written through the eyes of a CTRS whom is using this intervention study with nursing home residents from a therapeutic recreation perspective. With the large increase in our aging population we will also be seeing an increase in dementia-associated behaviors such as agitation. By finding non-traditional treatment interventions such as Animal Assisted therapy we are setting ourselves up for success at an early time. This evidence-based research was based on a pilot study of

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

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

Dolphin assisted therapy is a subfield in animal assisted therapy and considered a component of complementary and alternative medicine. The clients that usually turn towards this type of treatment are suffering from mental or physical disabilities and possibly psychopathologies (Fiskdal 2012). The different types of treatment usually depend on the ailment the client has and his or her needs in means of assistance. Animal assisted therapy has shown improvement for children with autism and development disorders by giving them a routine and putting them in charge of the animal. An increase in contact with the animal resulted in the lowering the clients’ anxiety and fear. When they were given the responsibility of taking care of the animal it increased their problem-solving skills, social interactions, receptive and expressive language and improvement in self-confidence (MdYusof 2012). It wasn’t until the later that dolphins started being used in animal assisted therapy. MdYusof states, “Among the many different animals used in animal-assisted therapy, dolphins have been a subject of research interest to help individuals with disabilities to improve their cognitive skills, physical mobility or socio-emotional behaviors as far back in the 1970’s” (55). This was due to David Nathanson, a clinical psychologist, who developed the

Animals are a great and brilliant asset to psychological and physical therapies. Animal assisted therapy facilitates various health conditions such as epilepsy, autism, Parkinson’s disease, those who are visually impaired, those who are deaf, those who suffer from depression, those with mental illnesses and disabilities and people with physical disabilities and Animal Interaction and Assistance in Psychological and Physical Therapy injuries, and many other psychological and physical conditions. Animal assisted therapy progresses the states of patients’ mental, physical, social and emotional capabilities and functions with the interactions of animals with people. The kind of animal used for this form of treatment is dependent on the needs of

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a means of therapy that is intended to help the patient's recovery advance, the patients can express themselves with and through the pet. Patients are allowed to pet, groom and walk, ride or swim with the animal giving them a chance to nurture and find companionship with the pet. Some of the goals are to improve a patient's social, emotional and/or cognitive functioning. The therapists seeks to achieve a better rapport with the patient channeled through the use of the animal that is assisting in the therapy. Due to concerns from institutions, health professionals have concerns about animal's hair, dirt and germs, but procedures of cleanliness have been developed that would permit pet-therapy programs at most hospitals and nursing homes.

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).

Scallion’s (2010) purpose in writing the article is to tell readers interested in animal therapy about the effects it has on children in school by sharing her own experiences on the subject. The text tells of Gretel, a therapy dog at the elementary school where Scallion worked as a principal. The article’s claim was supported through vignettes such as helping a boy with a phobia of school, and evidence from the book “Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling” by Cynthia Chandler. The article concluded that animal-assisted therapy benefits young students in many ways, such as improving mood, reducing anxiety, strengthening social skills, and providing comfort. The article states the benefits of having therapy animals in schools and provided real-world