Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) is a broad term that is often used to encompass both Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal Assisted Activities (AAA). Delta Society (2003) defines Animal Assisted Therapy as a type of intervention that is goal directed; in which an animal is an essential part of treatment. Fung (2015) defined AAT as the inclusion of animals in order to benefit different types of therapy. Dr. Boris Levinson is considered the founder of the term Animal Assisted Therapy (Rossetti & King, 2010). Animal Assisted Therapy is most commonly used as a part of therapy with a specific goal in mind (Pet Partners, 2012). Animal Assisted Activities can be described as interactions, in which an animal provides the opportunity for benefits …show more content…
AAT has been implemented in a variety of settings due to its numerous benefits. Other benefits include decreased heart rate (Friedmann, Katcher, Lynch &Thomas, 1980), blood pressure (Anderson, Reid, & Jennings, 1992), and depression while improving self-esteem (Walsh & Mertin, 1994). In children, the implementation and incorporation of animals in therapy is seen to be beneficial in social (Triebenbacher, 2000) and cognitive development (Melson, 2000). Goals of AAT include those that are physical, motivational, educational, and mental. Physical goals include the improvement of fine motor skills. Motivational AAT goals include having the child become more interested in interacting with others. Educational goals are focused on having the child increase their vocabulary and their knowledge of concepts. Mental goals encompass increasing verbal interaction, attention, and self-esteem while reducing anxiety and loneliness (Pet Partners, 2012). Animals are often seen as a transitional object in therapy; in which a child can build a social relationship and interaction that can be transferred over to other humans (George, 1988; Katcher, 2000; Winnicott, …show more content…
The participants consisted of 10 children who had PDD not otherwise specified, Asperger’s, or autism. Each child participated in three therapy sessions weekly for three weeks, where they would interact with the dog, the stuffed dog, or the ball. Interactions were categorized by either verbal or behavioral. Concerning behavior, more hand flapping occurred when the child was interacting with the dog, most likely due to overstimulation and excitement. The dog was the least likely to be touched out of the three stimuli. Eye contact was reduced most significantly between the therapist and the child when the dog was in the room. Eye contact was between the child and the therapy dog during those sessions. The children were more likely to give treats to the therapy dog than the stuffed dog as well as laughed more. Regarding verbal interaction, the children were found to give less in-depth answers when they were in the therapy room with the dog. The children were more focused on the dog rather than talking to the therapist or talking about themselves. Children spent the longest duration of time talking to the dog and interacting with the dog. Although this study had limited participants, the study did find that the children were happier and more playful when the dog was in the room. Attention and eye
Equine-assisted therapy, also known as equine therapy or equestrian therapy, is a type of animal-assisted therapy intended to teach, counsel, and/or rehabilitate people with disabilities. This type of experiential therapy includes activities such as: grooming and caring for, haltering and leading, tacking up, and riding horses. Each of those activities foster interactions between the rider or patient, and horse, building a bond between the human and horse. In a typical equestrian therapy setting, usually a dedicated therapeutic barn, a mental health professional and/or an “equine therapist can observe and interact with the patient in order to identify behavior patterns and process thoughts and emotions” (“What Is Equine Therapy?”). In some
The ESA stands for Emotional Support Animal. The Emotional Support Animal (ESA) letter is an essential document you require to prove that you are animal is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA). The Emotional Support Animal letter helps to get the treatment for your pet in an emergency condition. If you are pet is not get letter for the Emotional Support Animal, you cannot get any type of treatment from the LMHP (licensed mental health provider). This type of letter is to be provided for the LMHP (licensed mental health provider) like licensed therapist, psychologist, a psychiatrist and some of the other type of persons. The emotional support animal letter is issued based on the ACAA (Air Carrier
The US Census in 2000 has reported that, during the late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century there has been a large increase in the number of elderly people living in the United States of America, which will likely result in an increased incidence of dementia. In recent years, dog-assisted therapy has been widely regarded as a generally accepted method of providing elderly residents with good feelings and an increase in self-maintenance behavior. The aim of this study is to examine the psychological and behavioral effects of dog-assisted therapy on elderly residents with dementia. I predict that dog-assisted therapy will help elderly people with dementia with their behavioral and emotional problems such as aggression, agitation and psychosis.
Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D. . Center for the Study of Autism. Web. 23 October 2011.
In 1961, Dr. Boris Levinson, a child psychologist, became the “accidental” pioneer for animal therapy. One day he left his dog, Jingles, alone with one of his young, uncommunicative patients. When Dr. Levinson came back, the child was smiling and talking to the dog (Altschiller 3). This just shows how quick and monumental the effect of an animal can be. He believed that therapy animals provided, “unconditional acceptance and love” and they offered “a secure and warm environment for children and other patients, increasing their ability to adapt better psychologically to other people”...
Almost all the families that own dogs treat them like a part of the family. In the story How the Dog Became Part of the Family, it stated "According to a 2015 survey by the Harris Poll, ninety six percent of owners consider their dogs to be a part of the family." Since the dogs get special treatment from their owners they will do things for them, like encroachment foxes, clean out rats from somewhere, hunt ducks, and also even pull sleds on snowy days. Dogs can be malign gard dogs for people that treat them like kinfolks. The dogs and humans can have a very special bond. "When a dog and a human gaze in each others eye a chemical is released that causes the dog and human to feel adjacent." For example, in the story How the Dog Became Part of the Family, it states that, "The Harris Poll found that 38 percent of U.S. dog owners cook special meals for their dogs," Another thing is walking a dog a lot can improve people's health and can cause less accentuation. Less accentuation causes a better day and it is helpful to kids with autism. When dos get walked it makes you and the dog feel
Equine Therapy is known to help improve motor skills and psychological developments in children. Borgi illustrates, “having a goal oriented interaction with horses has an improvement in mental well-being, sense of self efficacy, and self esteem. Positively affecting individuals quality of life and global learning. Targeting sensory and motor difficulties, makes effects
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that effects the brains development. It is characterized by affecting communication, cognition and social interaction. The spectrum of the disorders ranges from a mild condition called Asperger’s syndrome to a more severe form, which severely impairer’s development. The Office of Communications and Public Liaison states that the disorder affects one and eighty-eight children, however ASD effects boys more frequently than girls (Office of Communications and Public Liaison, 2013). ASD emerges in all age, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. The significant varied character and severity of the disorder is why ASD is considered a spectrum that poses a broad range of symptoms.
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.
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions...
Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) is a form of animal assisted therapy in which horses are an integral part of the therapeutic process. Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy falls under the scope of Equine Assisted Therapy in which clients are offered the opportunity to work on self-awareness, feelings, attitudes and destructive behaviors. This type of therapy is an experiential psychotherapy that incorporates horses into the treatment process. EFP is based on mutually beneficial equine activities such as grooming, handling, lunging, vaulting, driving and riding. In the United States alone over 59 million people have received some type of mental health treatment (American Psychology Association 1).
Autism spectrum disorder has become the most common neurological and developmental disorder diagnosed in children today. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) estimate that 1 out of every 88 American children have been properly diagnosed. There is no known cure for autism, and the inconsistencies of the symptoms of autism in each case make it difficult to target a particular set of effective treatments. However some behavior management therapies, specifically physical therapy, may help to significantly control the unwanted symptoms in young children with autism spectrum disorder.
Recent studies have found that animals are a great way to help children who have autism. In the article Hess discusses research conducted by Queensland University. Researchers found,” When the autistic children interacted with the guinea pigs, they engaged 55% more social behaviors than when they interacted with toys,”(Hess,
In the 21st century, depression, anxiety, and stress are at an all time high in society. More and more people are committing suicide and being diagnosed with mental health issues. More and more kids are beginning to get anxiety and stress issues at a young age. Sometimes, pets are the easiest for children to talk to about their issues. "Even though pets may not fully understand or respond verbally, the level of disclosure to pets was no less than to siblings...The fact that pets cannot understand or talk back may even be a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgmental. Your pet doesn't understand you. But they also totally understand you”(Dahl). Growing up with pets at such a young age, I was also a child that did this. It may not seem like it to adults, but sometimes a family pet really is easier for a child to talk to because they can’t really respond back. It gives a child a chance to rant about their issues without someone talking back or even tell them their issues aren’t
Students can benefit from pet therapy as well, because they have animals come into the classrooms to help some students deal with anxiety and