Pet Therapy: Animals as healers

What is Animal Assisted Therapy?

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. It falls under the realm of Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI). AAI is general term that encompasses any intervention or treatment that includes an animal in a therapeutic context such as Emotional-Support Animals, Service/Assistance Animals (i.e., trained animals that assist and support with daily activities), and Animal Assisted Activity (AAA).
Animal-assisted therapy takes place in a variety of settings, including prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, therapeutic boarding schools for teens and mental health facilities. This form of treatment can take place individually or in groups, and is led by a qualified therapist or professional with specialized expertise.
AAT is much more than simply spending time with an animal, animal-assisted therapy involves specific therapeutic goals, strategies and outcomes measures. Therapeutic experiences can include walking, brushing, petting and caring for an animal, as well as processing the experience of trying to achieve a given task.

How it works?

AAT contains sub-sections based on the type of animal, the targeted population, and how the animal is being incorporated into the therapeutic plan. The most commonly used types of AAT are canine-assisted therapy and equine-assisted therapy.
The goal of AAT is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning and literature reviews state that animals can be useful for educational and motivational effectiveness for participants. Imagine you're in the hospital. Your doctor mentions the hospital's animal-assisted therapy program and asks if you'd be interested. You say yes, and your doctor arranges for someone to tell you more about the program. Soon after that, an assistance dog and its handler visit your hospital room. They stay for 10 or 15 minutes. You're invited to pet the dog and ask the handler questions. After the visit, you realize you're smiling. And you feel a little less tired and a bit more optimistic. You can't wait to tell your family all about that charming canine. In fact, you're already looking forward to the dog's next visit.

Effectiveness

In recent decades, an increased number of research indicates the social, psychological, and physiological benefits of animal assisted therapy in health and education field. Although the effectiveness of AAT is still unclear due to the lack of clarity regarding the degree to which the canine itself contributes in the recovery process, there is a growing awareness that AAT may be effective in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and dementia

Who can benefit from animal-assisted therapy?

Animal-assisted therapy can significantly reduce pain, anxiety, depression and fatigue in people with a range of health problems:

Children having dental procedures

People receiving cancer treatment

People in long-term care facilities

People with cardiovascular diseases

People with dementia

Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder

People with anxiety

And it's not only people with health problems who reap the benefits. Family members and friends who sit in on animal visits say they feel better, too.
Pet therapy is also being used in nonmedical settings, such as universities and community programs, to help people deal with anxiety and stress.

History

Research has found animals can have an overall positive effect on health and improve mood and quality of life.The positive effect has been linked to the human-animal bond. In modern times animals are seen as "agents of socialization" and as providers of "social support and relaxation".
The earliest reported use of AAT for the mentally ill took place in the late 18th century at the York Retreat in England, led by William Tuke. Patients at this facility were allowed to wander the grounds which contained a population of small domestic animals. These were believed to be effective tools for socialization. In 1860, the Bethlem Hospital in England followed the same trend and added animals to the ward, greatly influencing the morale of the patients living there. However, in other pieces of literature it states that AAT was used as early as 1792 at the Quaker Society of Friends York Retreat in England. Velde, Cipriani & Fisher also state "Florence Nightingale appreciated the benefits of pets in the treatment of individuals with illness." The US military promoted the use of dogs as a therapeutic intervention with psychiatric patients in 1919 at St Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, DC. 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. Increased recognition of the value of human–pet bonding was noted by Dr. Boris Levinson in 1961. Dr. 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.