What Is the Purpose of Animal Therapy?

Animal therapy, also called therapy or animal-assisted therapy, is any type of therapeutic intervention that incorporates animals. This may include support with physical, social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. It can be used alone or as part of a treatment plan with other interventions.

Therapy vs. Service vs. Support Animal

Animals used for animal therapy are specifically trained to provide affection and comfort. They are often confused with service and emotional support animals, but all three differ.
Therapy animals are trained to provide comfort and affection. They're encouraged to interact with a variety of people.
Emotional support animals are similar to therapy animals in that they both provide emotional support. However, while a therapy animal works with many people, an emotional support animal only works with their owner. Additionally, emotional support animals do not have special training.
Unlike therapy and emotional support animals, service animals are specifically trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities. For example, a service animal may help a blind person navigate their surroundings or alert someone with epilepsy that they are about to have a seizure.

Where Can You Find Animal Therapy?

Animal handlers and their trained animals provide animal therapy. These services may be provided in various ways.

Therapy animals may visit people in many environments, including:

• Hospitals
• Libraries
• Schools
• Rehabilitation centers
• Correctional facilities
• Nursing homes
• Hospice care facilities

There are also designated therapy animal facilities for people to go specifically for animal-assisted therapy. For example, horses are not able to visit patients in hospitals, but there are stables with therapy horses and programs for people to interact with the horses as therapy.