In this sense, the incorporation of AAT can be a motivating and enabling element of therapy in adolescents. Standard health insurance plans in the United States do not typically cover animal-assisted therapy. However, select insurers are beginning to include pet therapy as a complementary healthcare option. In family and group counseling, AAT can help foster trust, improve communication and reduce tension. Therapy animals create a calm space that encourages open, collaborative engagement and promotes emotional connection among participants.
- In a study by Anderson and Brown 24 involving nursing students, the intervention group experienced interactions with dogs before testing.
- The analysis included 16 studies that met the inclusion criteria and were deemed to be of moderate or higher quality.
- Dogs can be trained to aid in daily activities, detect elevated blood sugar or cancer, and warn of dysautonomia effects.
7. Analysis
These interactions also enhance motivation by helping patients engage more actively in rehabilitation or exercise-based treatments. All the researchers carried out assessments to determine the likelihood of bias, and the results of these does animal-assisted therapy work the pet-human bond assessments showed a remarkable level of consistency across all the investigations. The data depicted in Figure 2 indicate that the articles authored by Hinic et al 28, Priyanka MB 30, and Menna et al 34 exhibited a high risk of bias. Additionally, the study conducted by Anderson and Brown 24 indicated a potential risk of bias.
Beneficial for individuals in high-stress environments such as schools and workplaces, interactions with therapy animals can elevate mood and decrease physiological stress responses. Farm animal-assisted therapy incorporates animals like cows, goats and chickens to provide emotional support through structured tasks. Activities like feeding and grooming can boost coping skills, self-efficacy and mental health, particularly for individuals with psychiatric conditions. There is extensive research on whether animal-assisted therapy works, and compelling data shows that pets have the ability to relieve stress, anxiety, and provide comfort to patients. However, it has been shown that the positive effects of playing and petting an animal are also measurable in people without underlying clinical conditions. AAT enthusiasts will be happy to learn that the overwhelming majority of published studies have reported that animals make excellent therapists.
Pioneered by Boris Levinson in the 1960s, AAT uses trained animals to facilitate therapeutic outcomes, such as improved emotional regulation, reduced anxiety, and enhanced social skills. AAT practitioners design sessions where clients interact with animals under the guidance of a certified therapist. The type of animal, nature of the interaction, and therapeutic goals are tailored to each client’s unique needs, making AAT a versatile approach for various physical, emotional, and psychological challenges. Animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses trained animals in treatment plans to enhance physical, emotional and social well-being.
Studies reported on patients’ experiences with animal-assisted interventions such as dog therapy or animal visits. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring themes and extract meaningful insights from the type of disorder. Participants described the animals as a source of comfort, providing emotional support and reducing stress and anxiety.
The Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy: How Animals Help Improve Health and Well-Being
Patients not only experienced an increase in endorphin release, but a decrease in secretion of stress hormones, like cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. This all contributes to the overall improvement that has been observed in patients exposed to animal-assisted therapy. If you do not have a letter of prescription and are unable to get one, we recommend that you consider Chilhowee Psychological Services. This agency offers legitimate psychometric testing, assessment, diagnosis, AND a letter of prescription from a licensed mental health professional. Regarding the reciprocity subscale, the global score was 2.12 (0.73), which can be judged as “usually true”.
Emotional Support Animals and Schizophrenia: The Healing Presence
This calming effect supports emotional stability and helps individuals feel more at ease during medical treatments or therapy sessions. Regular interaction with therapy animals may alleviate depression and improve social engagement, particularly in individuals with dementia or those residing in long-term care facilities. The first is that most of the clinical trials on the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy are so methodologically flawed that their conclusions cannot be trusted. In a recent article in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, investigators led by Michael Anestis of the University of Southern Mississippi analyzed all of the published clinical trials on equine-assisted therapy. They found that in 12 of the 14 studies the sample sizes were too small to produce reliable results, and 8 of the studies also lacked no-treatment control groups.
Assessing publication bias is a crucial component in safeguarding the strength and credibility of our meta-analysis, which examines the effects of AAT on improving the well-being of individuals in diverse populations and settings. To gauge the possible influence of publication bias on our results, we applied several established techniques recommended in the field. One of these methods involved visually examining a bias risk graph for signs of asymmetry, which can be an indication of publication bias. By using these comprehensive approaches, our objective was to address any potential bias and guarantee that our meta-analysis offers an impartial synthesis of the existing evidence regarding the beneficial effects of AAT. The overall assessment of animal-assisted therapy shows promise as an effective intervention in promoting well-being among diverse populations.
Children and Adolescents
- CSAWPBS is a scale that aims to measure the participants’ perception of the dog’s presence, feelings of reciprocity between the participant and the dog, and the participants’ degree of attachment to the dog.
- Specifically, negative moods decreased, while positive moods, such as feelings of happiness, relaxation, and calmness, increased.
- On the flip side, though, other studies with dementia patients have shown that robot dogs are effective at reducing stress and anxiety.
- It’s almost as if life itself is inviting us to embrace difficulty—not as punishment but as a design feature.
- From dogs to farm animals, AAT therapy provides meaningful support across healthcare, education and community settings.
Petting animals, hugging, cuddling, rocking someone, having sex, and consuming vitamins C and D or dietary fats are all precursors to oxytocin. All of the sessions were planned, drafted, and agreed upon in advance by the teams’ professionals. In each session, specific objectives were worked on by means of different group dynamics. Six dynamics were presented that could be chosen at the discretion of each team of professionals. A typical animal-assisted therapy session lasts 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the therapeutic setting and individual needs.
While the Western world has made significant advancements in AAT, Eastern countries such as India, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Sri Lanka are still in the early stages of exploring and implementing such practices. These countries are currently in the infancy phase of using and developing their own AAT programs. As awareness and understanding of the benefits of AAT continue to grow worldwide, it is expected that these Eastern countries will gradually catch up and further enhance their ATT initiatives 40. The interventions included in the studies were described using various terms such as pet encounter therapy, pet-facilitated therapy, pet-assisted living, animal-assisted intervention, AAT, animal-assisted activity, or simply dog visits/therapy. In terms of the duration of the interventions, the 7 studies had varying time periods per visit 5,24,25,27,28,31,32. Five studies had interventions lasting for 12 weeks 20,21,23,30,33 and one for 6 weeks 29, while 2 studies had longer intervention periods of 6 months 26,34.
This approach is particularly beneficial for those with developmental disorders because it offers a nonjudgmental and engaging therapeutic experience. Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a therapeutic approach that incorporates animals, such as dogs, horses, and dolphins, into treatment plans to enhance physical, emotional, and social well-being. This form of therapy leverages the innate human-animal bond to promote psychological health, alleviate stress, and encourage social interaction. AAT is employed in various settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, and private practices, and is known for its adaptability across different age groups and cultural backgrounds. It provides a unique way to connect and communicate, especially for individuals who may find it challenging to engage in traditional therapeutic methods. Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a structured, goal-oriented therapeutic intervention that involves animals as a part of the treatment process.
To enter the field and become an animal-assisted therapist, individuals typically pursue a degree in psychology, social work or a related field, along with specialized training in AAT therapy. Certification programs teach proper animal handling, therapy techniques and ethical standards. In addition, any animal, no matter how well trained, can be unpredictable if it becomes scared or distressed. While you cannot ever completely eliminate the risk of an animal harming or biting a patient, in reality, the training they receive paired with the skill of therapy animal handlers renders this risk rather small. Deep experiences of love, care, and co-regulation occur both among humans and between humans and various animal species. Dogs, cats, birds, horses, cows, elephants, dolphins, and many other animals can experience these interspecies connections.
This bias toward the publication of only positive results also slants the AAT efficacy literature. For her doctoral dissertation, Greenwald investigated the impact of a therapeutic horseback riding program on 81 boys with emotion problems ranging from depression to ADHD to PTSD. She found that participation in equine-assisted therapy had no impact on the children’s self-esteem or frustration tolerance. Indeed, children who were highly attached to the therapy horses had higher levels of depression and anxiety.
Either case, both groups experienced a reduction in stress and anxiety compared to those who didn’t have the chance to pet an animal while thinking of the tarantula. The human-animal bond is more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling—it’s a scientifically validated relationship with the power to improve lives. From easing anxiety to offering stability during life’s hardest moments, animals provide a type of support no medication or therapy alone can fully replicate. Research shows that dogs and horses, in particular, can facilitate bidirectional healing when a caring relationship is present. Family dogs synchronize their behavior with both adults and children in the family, strengthening affiliative connections (Wanser et al., 2021).
Written informed consent for publication must be obtained from identifiable human participants. For studies involving client-owned animals written informed consent must be obtained from the owner of the animals (or an authorized agent for the owner). Despite the availability of various approved psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents, a current overview of treatments reveals that there is still much to be done 20,21,22.