Animal assisted therapy ( AAT ) is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. The goal of AAT is to improve the social, emotional, or cognitive function of the patient. Proponents suggest that animals can be useful for educational effectiveness and motivation for participants. In various settings such as prisons, nursing homes, mental institutions, animals are used to help people with different disabilities. A therapist who carries pets can be viewed as less threatening, improving the relationship between the patient and the therapist. Commonly used AATs include canine-assisted therapy and horse-assisted therapy. AAT is helpful in reducing the symptoms of psychological disorders, but most effects only last for a short time.
The Wilson (1984) biophysical hypothesis is based on the premise that our attachment and interest in animals stems from the strong possibility that human survival depends in part on signals from animals in the environment that indicate safety or threat. The biophilia hypothesis shows that now, if we see animals resting or in a state of peace, this may signal to us salvation, security and a sense of well-being which in turn can trigger a state in which personal change and healing are possible. Contrast is sometimes made with animal-assisted activities (AAA). AAA is more relaxed and unstructured than AAT, involving perhaps more than one patient and with a primary focus on the presence of the animal itself. Instead, AAT includes a handler who along with the animal has been trained for the role. AAT is more structured with a specific purpose for each session. However, in terms of such common use for animal aid interventions it is often used rather loosely.
Video Animal-assisted therapy
Medical use
Animals can be used in a variety of settings such as prisons, nursing homes, mental institutions, hospitals and at home. Help dogs can help people with disabilities; they are able to help certain life activities and help people navigate outside the home.
As with all other interventions, assessing whether a program is effective as far as the outcome is easier when the target is clear and can be determined. The literature review identifies targets for animal-assisted therapy programs relevant to children and adolescents. They include increased capacity to form positive relationships with others who are relieved in pet ownership.
Childcare
Therapists rely on techniques such as monitoring children's behavior with animals, their tone of voice, and indirect interviews. These techniques are used, along with pets of children or other animals, to obtain information. Before pet therapy can be useful, children and animals should first develop a sense of comfort with each other, which is easier to achieve if the child's own pets are used. Applied techniques that produce the most useful information about the victim's experience are to tell the child that the animal wants to know how they feel or what happened. AAT can be used in children with mental health problems, can be used as stand-alone treatment or can be used in conjunction with conventional methods. Animals can be used as a diversionary method when it comes to situations, pain, and can also help bring happiness, fun, and entertainment to the child's population. Animals can also help improve the mood of children and reinforce positive behaviors while helping to reduce the negative. Dogs in AAT can be an effective method to reduce pain in children as a complementary treatment.
Prison
A prison-based animal aid program involves inmates working with qualified handlers to train animals through a structured, goal-oriented program. The overall goal of using animal-assisted therapy in prisons is to relieve stress from prisoners and workers, improve cognitive and behavioral skills, improve social skills, and to teach love, patience, and empathy in realistic settings. Animal-assisted therapy is directly linked to increased physical and mental health benefits, induced relaxation, self-confidence, increased intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, and better environmental conditions. Until 2016 there has been little research examining animal support programs at the prison level, especially in terms of long-term effects, so the success rate can not be accurately measured. However, the effects of similar case studies such as rehabilitation programs or nursing homes can be evaluated and applied to the current state of the prison system to examine other alternatives to the reform program. If implemented in prison regulatory results, it can show improvement in better environmental conditions and social support among staff and inmates by teaching them how to cope with hostile environments. The possibility that prisoners will transfer the knowledge and skills learned in a penitentiary program for their transition outside the institution contributes to a larger society by producing productive members of the community. Time in prison should be directed to helping prisoners build the life skills needed to push them onto the right path, especially in the face of mental illness, loss, or addiction. The effects animals have on one's ability to understand love, empathy, and compassion are reasons to further explore animal-assisted therapy in correctional settings.
Nursing home
Animal-assisted therapy draws on the bond between animals and humans to help improve and sustain individual functions and is used to assist in the process of improving the quality of life of individuals in nursing homes. Psychologists and therapists pay attention to the increase in unfavorable behavior of parents who are transferred to nursing homes. Once patients become accustomed to their new environment, they lose their sense of self-efficacy and independence. Simply, everyday tasks are taken from them and patients become lethargic, depressed, and anti-social if they do not have regular visitors.
When parents are transferred to nursing homes or LTC facilities, they often become passive, anxious, withdrawn, depressed, and inactive due to a lack of regular visitors or the loss of a loved one. AAT supporters say that animals can help motivate patients to be mentally and physically active, keeping their minds sharp and healthy. Therapists or visitors who bring animals to their sessions in nursing homes are often considered less threatening, which improves the relationship between therapists/visitors and patients.
There are many techniques used in AAT, depending on the needs and condition of the patient. For elderly dementia patients, treating interactions with animals is the most important aspect. Animal-assisted therapy provides these patients the opportunity to have close physical contact with warm body animals, feel the heartbeat, stroke the skin and the soft coat, pay attention to breathing, and give hugs. Animal assisted therapy consultants also plan activities for patients in need of physical movement. These planned tasks include stroking animals, walking in animals, and caring for animals. These experiences seem so common and simple, but elderly dementia patients usually have no interaction with these people because their loved ones have graduated or no one has come to visit them. Their minds need to be stimulated as they once were. Animals provide a sense of meaning and belong to these patients and offer something to look forward to during their long days.
Maps Animal-assisted therapy
Type
There are various animal species used in animal therapy therapy (AAT). Individual animals are evaluated with strict criteria before use in AAT. Criteria include appropriate size, age, talent, distinctive behavior and correct level of training. The most common form of AAT is with dogs and horses. There is also published research on dolphin therapy.
Canine-assisted therapy
Dogs are the most common and popular animal companion. They are sensitive to changes in human facial expressions, behaviors, and emotions, so not surprisingly, dogs are a good choice for animal-assisted interventions with therapeutic purposes. This intervention is called canine-assisted therapy. Canine-assisted therapy utilizes the interaction between client and dog therapy to enhance therapeutic and welfare activities such as the client's physical, cognitive, behavioral and socio-emotional functions. Well-trained dogs exhibit behaviors that clients interpret as friendly and hospitable. They entertain the client through body contact. Dog therapy is also required to have a calm temperament to accommodate contact with unknown clients while they serve as a source of comfort. They promote patients involved in interactions that can help patients improve motor skills and build trusting relationships with others. The interaction between patient and dog therapy also helps reduce the stress and anxiety experienced by the patient. Because of these benefits, canine dental therapy is used as a complement to other therapies for treating diagnoses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and dementia. Except for use in therapy, dog help can also be used in the classroom to promote the development of creative writing and life skills and the participation of children in group activities. There is a program called canine-assisted reading program that facilitates children with special educational needs. These programs take advantage of the calm, nonjudgmental, and happy characteristics of the fangs to let the reading process become more meaningful and enjoyable for children. With these benefits, researchers suggest to include dogs in assisting learning and educational programs.
There is a difference between hippotherapy and therapeutic horseback riding. The American Hippotherapy Association defines hippotherapy as a strategy for treating physical, occupational, and speech therapy that utilizes horse movements as part of an integrated intervention program to achieve functional outcomes, while the International Horsemanship Professional Association (PATHI) defines upward therapy as a riding lesson specifically tailored to people people with special needs. According to Marty Becker, the active hippotherapy program "in twenty-four countries and horse functions has evolved to be therapeutic for people with physical, psychological, cognitive, social, and behavioral problems." Hippotherapy has also been approved by the American Speech and Hearing Association as a treatment method for individuals with speech disorders. In addition, horse-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) uses horses to work with people who have mental health problems. EAP often does not involve riding. Additional information relating to horse aids therapy can be seen with Laira Gold's open clinical study of EAT.
Dolphin therapy
Lumba relief therapy refers to swimming exercises with dolphins. Proponents claim for meetings such as "the remarkable results of therapy and breakthroughs in outcomes", but this form of therapy has been criticized for having no long-term benefits, and is based on false observations. Psychologists have warned that dolphin aid therapy is ineffective for every known condition and presents considerable risk to both human patients and captive dolphins. The Dolphin assisted therapy agenda is to help people with autism, Down syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy with rehabilitation in motor, speech, and language functions and to maintain and enhance the client's attention span. The boy has a one-on-one session with a therapist in a marine park. The ethical problem with data on dolphin assisted therapy and its effectiveness is that most of the research is done by people who operate dolphin assisted therapy programs. Dolphin assisted therapy is an alternative treatment/therapy option for people who do not respond or are not interested in traditional medicine/therapy and it is a controversial therapy. John Lilly, who studied the interaction of dolphins, first considered this idea that interaction with dolphins could be beneficial to humans in the 1960s. David Nathanson, who is a clinical psychologist, came up with a lot of research on this therapy today. Nathanson's theory is that children with disabilities will increase their attention to related stimuli in the environment in the hope that they will interact with dolphins, help motivate the child to perform the task and provide appropriate responses according to the child's therapy program. lesson.
Benefits of Animal-Help Therapy
Based on current research, there are many conditions/disorders that can benefit from animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in various places around the world. These conditions include psychological disorders, developmental disorders, dementia, cancer, chronic pain, advanced heart failure, etc. Animal-assisted therapy is commonly used for psychological disorders. Disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD) are part of psychological disorders that may benefit from animal-assisted therapy.
![Dog Therapy] The Amerman Family Animal-Assisted Therapy Program ...](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_saKfMkkRGPLD-Y5DZuxW27l6fZePowZ29xb1sbMw6LmvfXyCZjIR7gsbSxlRP73r-R426_iBJ2HzTG-duNYkQ6Bxa8piuf7lZYXFvjQjb2faJ8dlRy8eidvj8BffDppAhduvNmbBa8=s0-d "Dog Therapy] The Amerman Family Animal-Assisted Therapy Program ...")
Effectiveness
In the last few decades, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated the social, psychological, and physiological benefits of animal support therapy in health and education. The effectiveness of AAT in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and dementia have gradually been open to the public.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may reduce behavioral problems and improve socialization skills with AAT interventions. Compared with children receiving only cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), children receiving cannine therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) have reduced the severity of ADHD symptoms. However, canine-assisted therapy has no effect on the loss of ADHD symptoms in long-term treatment.
Pascatrauma Stress Disorder
Canine-assisted therapy is an exhilarating and non-invasive method for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. In psychological conditions, the interaction between dogs and veterans supports social interaction for isolated veterans, reducing symptoms associated with PTSD such as depression and anxiety, and improving veteran calm. Under physiologic conditions, canine auspices potentially mediate oxytocin affecting social and physical wellbeing and lower blood pressure, and therefore may reduce the adverse symptoms of PTSD in veterans. However, canine-assisted therapy also has limitations. This may actually prevent veterans from developing their own way of controlling stressful situations. The effectiveness of the AAT is still unclear because of the lack of scientific clarification of the extent to which the canines themselves contribute to the recovery process.
Autism Spectrum Disorders
AAT can reduce ASD symptoms such as aggressiveness, irritability, distractibility, and hyperactivity. Riding a therapeutic horse shows a positive effect on children with ASD. It improves children's communication skills and decreases their ASD symptoms. The slow swing motion stimulates the vestibular system and therefore can help children with ASD produce speech sounds. Canine-assisted interventions provide a quieter environment by reducing the stress, irritation, and anxiety experienced by children with ASD. Playing with dogs improves the positive mood in children with ASD. Animals can also function as social catalysts. In the presence of animals, children with ASD are more likely to engage in social interactions with humans. However, the impact of AAT on parent-child interactions is unclear.
Dementia
The AAT program promotes emotional expression and cognitive stimulation through discussion and remembrance of memories when patients bind to animals. Many of the annoying symptoms in elderly dementia patients include decreased physical function, apathy, depression, loneliness, and disruptive behavior. A study in 2017 evaluated the results of ten research articles and found that animal-aided therapy (mainly using dogs) resulted in measurable improvements in quality of life.
Limitations
Limitations of pet therapy centers on applications during scenarios involving adults who have been sexually assaulted. Although pets tend to cause more comfort for the victim, pet therapy may not be a catalyst that provides a positive success in the therapy sessions. As mentioned above, adults tend to be less focused on having animal companions, and therefore, pet therapy can not be attributed as an excuse for success in this type of therapy session. [5] Pet therapy does not pose any ethical issues as far as advancing a non-scientific agenda. On the other hand, there are some ethical concerns that arise when applying pet therapy to younger victims of sexual violence. For example, if a child is introduced to an animal that is not their pet, the application of pet therapy may cause some concern. First of all, some children may be uncomfortable with animals or may be scared, so there will be ethical concerns by using pet therapy, which can be avoided by asking permission to use animals in therapy. Second, special bonds are made between animals and children during pet therapy. Therefore, if the animal in question does not belong to the child, there may be some negative side effects when the child stops therapy. The child will become attached to the animal, which does cause some ethical issues as far as subjecting the child to disappointment and possible relapses that can occur after the therapy is stopped. [5] Another limitation of assisted therapy animals is that AAT may be a short-term, not long-term strengthening. Also, for dolphin assisted therapy, it is dangerous for the dolphins themselves; by taking the dolphins from their natural environment and putting them in captivity because therapy can be harmful to their well-being. [2]
History
Animal-assisted therapy grew out of initial ideas and beliefs in the supernatural powers of animals and animal spirits. It first appeared in the early hunter gathering community. In modern times, animals are seen as "socializing agents" and as providers of "social support and relaxation". Although animal-assisted therapy is believed to have started in the early human period it is undocumented and based on speculation. The earliest use of AAT reported for mental illness occurred at the end of the 18th century at the York Retreat in England, led by William Tuke. Patients in this facility were allowed to roam the yard containing small domestic animal populations. This is believed to be an effective tool for socialization. In 1860, Bethlem Hospital in England followed the same trend and added animals to the ward, greatly affecting the morale of the patients living there.
Sigmund Freud nurtures many dogs and often eats Jofi which he serves during the pioneering psychoanalysis sessions. He noticed that the presence of the dog was helpful because patients would find that their speech would not surprise or disturb the dog and this convinced them and encouraged them to relax and vent. This is most effective when the patient is a child or adolescent. The theory behind AAT is what is known as Attachment theory.
Therapy involving animals is used in therapy by Dr. Boris Levinson accidentally discovers the use of pet therapy with children when he leaves his dog alone with a difficult child, and upon returning, finds the boy talking to the dog. However, in other literary pieces it states that it was founded as early as 1792 at the Quaker Society of Friends York Retreat in England. Velde, Cipriani & amp; Fisher also states "Florence Nightingale appreciates the benefits of pets in the care of individuals with disease.The US military promotes the use of dogs as a therapeutic intervention with psychiatric patients in 1919 at St Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, DC The increase in recognition of the value of the human-pet bond is noted by Dr. Boris Levinson in 1961 ".
See also
References
External links
- Media related to Animal-assisted therapy on Wikimedia Commons
- Legal State Animal Assistance - Michigan State University
- Defects and Medical Conditions - TSA (Transportation Security Administration)
- Skloot, Rebecca (December 31, 2008) "The Comfort of Beings", The New York Times
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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