Your Therapeutic Furry Friend

Dr. Tali Shenfield | December 20, 2012

In recent years, doctors started recommending to their patients the use of animal-assisted therapy (also called "pet therapy") in order to augment medical treatment of various diseases. This type of therapy is based on the therapeutic contact between animals and human beings. The interaction with animals helps to speed up the rehabilitation process. People have known for ages the therapeutic abilities of cats, dogs, guinea pigs, elephants, horses, dolphins, etc. The earliest known use of animal-assisted therapy is in Ancient Greece, where some healing temples used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners. It is an interesting fact that both the Greek God of Healing Asclepius and the Roman Aesculapius had animals dedicated to them—the snake, the dog, and the rooster.

Dogs and cats are certainly most researched animals. Various studies show positive effect of dogs on patients with heart or blood pressure problems, the presence of dogs and cats in the house helps to relieve stress, lessen psychological problems, and improve the nervous system. Dogs and cats are also believed to help ease asthma symptoms, get rid of skin problems, and even assist in cancer recovery.

Pet therapy is widely used in many rehabilitation centers for people with disabilities and for elderly people in nursing homes. The statistical research conducted in Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences shows that older dog owners are four times less likely to visit doctors than those who do not have any pets at home.

Clinical psychologists are well aware that communication with animals helps to alleviate anxiety and depression, mitigate anger issues, and it is especially beneficial for people with Autism and Asperger syndrome. In the study "The Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Anxiety Ratings of Hospitalized Psychiatric Patients" Sandra Barker and Kathryn Dawson show a statistically significant reduction in anxiety scores after just one animal-assisted therapy session for patients with psychotic disorders, mood disorders, and other psychological illness. Among the patients with psychotic disorders, those who participated in animal-assisted therapy had twice the improvement in anxiety scores as compared to those who participated in some other form of recreational activity.

Animal-assisted therapy is often used as part of multi-modal treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but until recently there was no scientific proof of positive effects of animal-assisted therapy on ADHD children. Professor Sabrina Schuck from the University of California, Irvine, conducted a four-year study to learn whether animal-assisted therapy can help children with ADHD to improve their social skills and control their symptoms. The initial results of this study prove that specially trained pet therapy dogs can help children with ADHD to improve their social skills.

There are many organizations in US and Canada dedicated to animal-assisted therapy. Among those are Delta Society Therapy Dogs, Therapy Dogs International, Therapeutic Paws of Canada, The Natural Connection, Chimo Animal Assisted Therapy project, etc.

Animal-assisted therapy is becoming more mainstream, and many universities and colleges worldwide started offering the training programs - see the list of educational programs at https://www.thenaturalconnection.ca/training/aai/animal.html

 

Further reading on this topic:

 

Aanderson, W. P., Reid, C. M., & Jennings, G. I. (1992). Pet ownership and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Medical Journal of Australia, 157, 298-301.

Baun, M. M., & McCabe, B. W. (2000). The role animals play in enhancing quality of life for the elderly. In A. Fine (Ed.), Animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (pp. 213-234). NY: Academic Press.

Beck, A. & Katcher, A. (1996). Between pets and people: The importance of animal companionship (Rev. ed.). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.

Beck, A. M. (2000). The use of animals to benefit humans. Animal-assisted therapy. In A. Fine (Ed.), Animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (pp. 21-37). NY: Academic Press.

Chandler, C.K. (2005). Animal assisted therapy in counseling. NY: Routledge.

Edwards, N. E., & Beck, A. M. (2002). Animal-assisted therapy and nutrition in Alzheimer’s disease. Western Journal of Nursing research, 24(6) , 697-712.

Fine, A. (2000). Animals and therapists: Incorporating animals in outpatient psychotherapy. In A. Fine (Ed.), Animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (pp. 179-207). NY: Academic Press.

Fredrickson, M. & Howie, A. R. (2000). Considerations in selecting animals for animal- assisted therapy: Part B. In A. Fine (Ed.), Animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (pp. 100-114). NY: Academic Press.

Granger, B. P., & Kogan, L. (2000). Animal-assisted therapy in specialized settings. In A. Fine (Ed.), Animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (pp. 213-234). NY: Academic Press.

Haubenhofer, D. K., & Kirchengast, S. (2006). Physiological arousal for companion dogs working with their owners in animal assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 9(2) , (pp.165-172).

Lange, A. M., Cox, J. A., Bernert, D. J., & Jenkins, C. D. (2007). Is counseling going to the dogs? An exploratory study related to the inclusion of animal in group counseling with adolescents. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 2(2), 17-31. 193

Lutwack-Bloom, P., Wijewickrama, R., & Smith, B. (2005). Effects of pets versus people visits with nursing home residents. Journal of Gerentological Social Work, 44 (3/4), 137-159.

Mallon, G. (1994). Cow as co-therapist: Utilization of farm animals as therapeutic aides with children in residential treatment. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 11(6) , 455-474.

Mallon, G. P., Ross, S. B., & Ross, L. (2000). Designing and implementing animal- assisted therapy programs in health and mental health organizations. In A. Fine (Ed.), Animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (pp. 115-126). NY: Academic Press.

Marino, L., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2007). Dolphin-assisted therapy: More flawed data and more flawed conclusions. Anthrozoos, 20(3), 239-249.

Marr, C. A., French, L., Thompson, D., Drum, L., Greening, G., Mormon, J., et al. (2000). Animal-assisted therapy in psychiatric Rehabilitation. Anthrozoos, 13, 43-47. 194

Martin, F., & Farnum, J. (2002). Animal-assisted therapy for children with pervasive developmental disorders. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 24, 657 -670.

Odendall, J. S. J. (2000). Animal-assisted therapy: Magic or medicine [Electronic version]. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 49(4), 275-280.

Parshall, D. P. (2003). Research and reflection: Animal-assisted therapy in mental health settings. Counseling and Values, 48, 47 -56.

Prothmann, A., Albrecht, K., Dietrich, S., Ulrike, H., Stiever, S., & Ettrich, C. (2005). Analysis of child-dog play behavior in child psychiatry. Anthrozoos, 18(1), 43-58.

Prothmann, A., Bienert, M., & Ettrich, C. (2006). Dogs in psychotherapy: Effects on state of mind. Anthrozoos, 19(3), 265-277.

Reichart, E. (1994). Play and animal-assisted therapy: A group treatment model for sexually abused girls ages 9-13. Family Therapy, 21(1) , 55-62. 196

Reichart, E. (1998). Individual counseling for sexually abused children: A role for animals and storytelling. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 15(3) , 177-185.

Sarafino, E.P. (2006). Health psychology: Biopsychosocial interactions (5th ed.) . NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Serpell, J. (1991). Preventing potential health hazards incidental to the use of pets in therapy. Anthrozoos, 4, 14-23.

Serpell, J., Coppinger, R., & Fine, A. (2000). The welfare of assistance and therapy animals: An ethical comment. In A. Fine (Ed.), Animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (pp. 415-430). NY: Academic Press.

Souter, M. A., & Miller, M. D. (2007). Do animal-assisted activities effectively treat depression? A meta-analysis. Anthrozoos, (20)1, 167-180.

Turner, D. C. (2000). Animal-assisted therapy and the study of human-animal relationships: Discipline or bondage? Context or transitional object? In A. Fine (Ed.), Animal assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (pp. 461-471). NY: Academic Press.

Urichuk, L., & Anderson, D. (2003). Improving mental health through animal-assisted therapy. AB: The Chimo Project.198

Zamir, T. (2006). The moral basis of animal-assisted therapy. Society & Animals, 14(2), 179-199.

 

Author: Dr. Tali Shenfield

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/86571141@N00/178348539

About Tali Shenfield

Dr. Tali Shenfield holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Toronto and is a licensed school and clinical psychologist. She has taught at the University of Toronto and has worked at institutions including the Hospital for Sick Children, Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, TDSB, and YCDSB. Dr. Shenfield is the Founder and Clinical Director of Advanced Psychology Services.

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