Should Pet Therapy Be Effective At Alleviating Stress And Anxiety Through Emotional And Physiological Support?

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.

Pets usually help people with anxiety because they're quiet, love you no matter what, listen to your problems, and/or keep your mind off of your anxiety. When you have to take care of your pet, your mind is focused on only your pet and what you have to do to provide or him, or her. In the article, “Pets Are Like Superheros For People With Anxiety” the author states, “With anxiety, a small feeling can escalate into something huge very quickly. The tiniest thing might not be that big of a deal to some, but anxiety turns into the apocalypse. It becomes all you can focus on. When you have a pet around, you have to focus on him. ‘When we focus attention on taking care of a pet, it helps us take our mind off of our own worries,’ Humperys told The Dodo.” (Anders, 2016). People with anxiety tend to become very anxious very fast, which causes little panic attacks and it fills their mind. It makes people unable to think, but having a pet around could help. Having a pet around to pet and cuddle with can calm people and keep them from thinking the world is closing in around them. Taking care of a pet keeps your mind focused on them and it’s a very healthy way to deal

Imagine you were in a hospital and your doctor mentions pet therapy and you decide to try it out. Your doctor arranges for you to meet with someone in the morning to tell you all about it. Soon after that, a dog and its handler visit you in your room and you are invited to pet the dog, play with it, and ask questions to the owner. After the visit you realize you're smiling, less tired, and more optimistic, and you can't wait to tell your friends and family about it, and can't wait for tomorrow to see the dog again. This is called pet therapy. Because pet therapy is popular today people should understand the physical, mental, and social benefits before making a decision.

Pet therapy is a way of comforting a patient. Although dogs are primarily used, they are not the only

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

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

Resident therapy dogs have been implemented at the library of the Harvard School of Medicine, and these dogs may be checked out just like you would with a book. According to research, interaction with dogs decreases a person’s level of cortisol and increases endorphin levels (Adamle).

As an aid in traditional therapy, Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) provides comfort, support, an outlet for stress relief, and a way to relieve anxiety. In an article by Ernst (2012), one can see many

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (2013) defines Schizophrenia as one of the most common serious mental health conditions affecting men and women equally. It is a chronic condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms including hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that do not exist) and delusions (believing in things that are untrue). These symptoms are often referred to as ‘symptoms of psychosis’, when an individual cannot distinguish between reality and their imagination (DSM, 2013). Wahashi et al. (2007) suggest that patients with schizophrenia often have difficulty in coping with everyday stressors and suffer emotional withdrawal and poor social functioning this can be particularly pronounced in patients living in an institutionalised setting (Wahashi et al. 2007).

Pet therapy is an incredible way to help people who have anxiety, depression, and to relieve stress. They are different from service animals because they are for everyone. Service animals are for the specific person they are assigned to. Therapy dogs are trained well and tested on how well they react to certain situations. For example, how they react to being around a lot of people and how well they can handle being pet by multiple people. They also get trained on how they handle large crowds and different sounds. The therapy animal we got to meet was a wonderful Lab named Kodi. he was very adorable and could handle all of us petting him and being all around him. His owner told us that he can sense when someone is in distress or feeling extreme

First, owning a pet can give people some major health benefits. Without a pet, a day at work or school can be stressful. By the end of the day, people could be ripping out their hair or throwing papers everywhere. This can make anyone’s heart rate go up as well as their blood pressure. Thankfully, studies have shown that interacting with a dog or other pet can lower his or her’s cortisol levels. For instance, after only three months, a group of people working with dogs were shown to have significant drops in blood pressure and stress. Pet’s happy go lucky vibes can impact their owners to feel the same, lowering his or her’s stress level. Even when someone sees a picture of their pet when they're stressed, it can immediately cause his or her’s heart

There isn’t a better, more comforting feeling, than coming home after a long, hard day at work or school and being welcomed at the door with a wagging tail, wet kisses, and an excited to see you face from your dog. For many, having any sort of interaction with a pet or animal is the ultimate cure to stress that is caused by work, people, and life. While not every college student is able to have a loving pet in their lives, even a momentary encounter with any animal can lower stress and anxiety levels. Multiple studies have proven that animals are a powerful form of stress relief by not only lowering blood pressure, but also lowering a dangerous stress hormone, cortisol, which is correlated with depression and anxiety. Interactions with animals have also proven to raise oxytocin levels, which are linked to pleasure, relaxation and happiness. Lowering stress and anxiety in college students will help them academically and socially throughout their college lives. College students will experience lower stress levels, a lower level of cortisol, and live a happier stress-free life by interacting with animals or pets throughout their time in college.

McConnell, Brown, Shoda, Stayton & Martin, (2011) did research that showed that psychological health, well-being, and happiness is higher in people who have a pet compared to people who do not have a pet. Owning a pet can provide owners with many direct, material benefits, e.g., scaring away prospective burglars, reducing vermin. There is also evidence that pets can have positive psychological implications, though, the majority of these studies are correlational and involve populations facing considerable life challenges (Wood et al, 2015).