Animal Assisted Therapy

The Truth About Animal-Assisted Therapy

Overall, pet owners have a lower risk of dying from any cardiac disease, including heart failure. Researchers have also found that when children grow up in a home with a dog or cat they are less likely to develop allergies. For people with diabetes, a sudden drop in the level of blood glucose can be very serious. Some dogs can alert their owner to a dangerous drop before it actually happens.

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They may be responding to chemical changes in the body that give off a scent. The alarm gives the owner time to eat a snack to avoid the emergency. Some studies are being done on bringing specially trained animals into clinical settings, which is happening in more and more hospitals and nursing homes. One of the biggest advantages of letting patients interact with animals in such places appears to be improved mood and reduced anxiety. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Heart Views v.

The effectiveness of AAT is also still unclear due to the lack of clarity regarding the degree to which the canine itself contributes in the recovery process. There are some concerns specific to dolphin-assisted therapy: First, it is potentially hazardous to the human patients, and it is harmful to the dolphins themselves; by taking dolphins out of their natural environment and putting them in captivity for therapy can be hazardous to their well-being.

Animal-assisted therapy sprouted from the idea and initial belief in the supernatural powers of animals and animal spirits. These were believed to be effective tools for socialization. In , the Bethlem Hospital in England followed the same trend and added animals to the ward, greatly influencing the morale of the patients living there. Sigmund Freud kept many dogs and often had his chow Jofi present during his pioneering sessions of psychoanalysis. He noticed that the presence of the dog was helpful because the patient would find that their speech would not shock or disturb the dog and this reassured them and so encouraged them to relax and confide.

This was most effective when the patient was a child or adolescent. Some claim that AAT is based on attachment theory , [ citation needed ] though attachment theory originated in the s and AAT originated earlier as described above. Increased recognition of the value of human—pet bonding was noted by Dr.

Boris Levinson in Boris Levinson accidentally used animals in therapy with children when he left his dog alone with a difficult child, and upon returning, found the child talking to the dog. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

September Learn how and when to remove this template message. November Learn how and when to remove this template message. Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy. A systematic review of benefits and risks" Submitted manuscript. European Journal of Integrative Medicine. Between Pets and People: A role for animals and storytelling". Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

Use of pets in therapy with elderly nursing home residents.

Journal of Gerontological Nursing. A narrative review of the literature". The Healing Power of Pets: Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association.

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Archived from the original on Equine facilitated psychotherapy for children" PDF. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. Results of an Open Clinical Trial". Effectiveness of psychiatric service dogs in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. History, principles and practice: A practical guide to the diagnosis and treatment of disease using living organisms. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development. Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy: Foundations and Guidelines for Animal-Assisted Interventions. American Journal of Occupational Therapy.

Animal-assisted interventions in historical perspective.

Animal-Assisted Therapy

Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice. Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice: Implications for occupational therapy practice". Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. That makes them able to pick up social cues imperative to human relationships. Therapists then can process that information and use it to help clients see how their behavior affects others.

And they can do this in an immediate way. It gives them a chance to practice caring skills and social skills with a being which is simpler to do that with than a human. AAT began in the early s and thus is a relatively new field. Since then, it has grown in popularity, has gained wide acceptance and is evolving into mainstream psychology. This is evident in the increasing number of universities such as the University of North Texas that offer a graduate course in animal-assisted therapy.

Therapists and potential clients may wonder, however, what makes AAT more beneficial than traditional talk therapy. Skeptics may question the lack of research to back up the benefits of AAT.

But though the research may be sparse, Chandler says the research is out there and has been increasing since Working with a therapy animal has also resulted in behavioral improvement in children and a reduction in depression for elderly with dementia. To her, the research speaks for itself. In addition to lowering blood pressure and heart rate, it is a powerful healing mechanism. Therapy animals have also returned the positive benefits of touch to counseling.

Touch has been understandably removed from therapy, especially with counseling youth, but at a cost.