...2012 Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy Throughout human history, “animals have occupied a central position in theories concerning the ontology and treatment of sickness and disease” (Serpell 16). Animals have played a major role in the lives of humans in ways that have affected our entire being and survival. Countless amounts of people, animals, and time have been put into bringing AAT all over the world; as a result, five other countries have adopted this form of therapy. The volunteers and workers of Animal Assisted Therapy have pushed to bring an exciting new therapy to children and adults all around. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a familiar method of treatment and rehabilitation in many diseases and conditions, where the animal becomes an important “behavioral facilitator”, causing improvements in the behavior and health of the patient. “Numerous authors and medical professionals point to its importance and in particular that the positive feedback between the patient, the animal, and the therapist reduces many symptoms, and improves the quality of life” (Yeh 2005). The history of Animal Assisted Therapy can be traced back to the 9th Century. It is a goal-oriented intervention in which an animal that meets the criteria becomes an integral part of the treatment process for patients. The benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy far outweigh the risks, and should be used and recognized as an effective form of therapy. AAT in a natural environment...
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...would like to advocate for is the integration of animal-assisted therapy into more counseling settings. This type of therapy can be used effectively in a variety of settings, including private practice, prisons, nursing homes, detention centers, hospitals, schools, etc. It is particularly effective with at-risk children and adolescents, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations (Franchy, 2011). When animals are used in therapy, it makes it easier for counselors to build positive therapeutic alliances with their clients. Many children and adolescents prefer to communicate in non-verbal ways; therefore, when a counselor brings an animal, such as a dog, into the counseling session, it becomes much easier for a child or adolescent to open up and express their thoughts and feelings by “project[ing] their own feelings onto the dog” (Shallcross, 2011, A Comfortable Relationship section, para. 5). The child or adolescent is more likely to establish a relationship with the dog, which then transfers to a relationship with the counselor. The animal helps clients feel more comfortable with the counselor, which in turn, facilitates more trust, warmth, and acceptance. Animal-assisted therapy “facilitates breakthroughs with clients” (Shallcross, 2011, para. 1). It enables many different types of clients to open up more freely and express themselves in ways they would not have otherwise. There are endless benefits to using animals in therapy work, but more research needs to be done in order...
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...Effect of Animal Assisted Therapy in Therapeutic Environments Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) has been a form of therapy used since the late sixteenth century. A considerable amount of research has been invested in the study and analysis of AAT because it has yielded significant health benefits. AAT is primarily used along with traditional therapies to treat the deficits that are common to many physical and emotional disabilities. Some include physical delays of Cerebral Palsy (CP), cognitive and language delays in those with Language Learning Disabilities (LLD), and emotional instability in those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While currently many forms of traditional therapies are available, the effectiveness of using animals in therapy...
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...Association use animals to assist in their psychotherapy treatments (Lilienfeld). Animals can assist in therapy for many purposes in a variety of settings to help those “who are ill, suffering, or in need” (“Therapy Animal”). The benefits of animal-assisted therapy are unquestionable. Animals are such lovable and compassionate companions that they make excellent therapists whether they’re trained as therapy animals or not. As “George Eliot wrote, ‘Animals are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions and they pass no criticism’” (Lilienfeld). People often aren’t informed of the benefits animals can provide, but the research, facts,...
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...Animal Assisted Therapy: One Solution to Violence in Canada’s Prisons Does animal assisted therapy decrease the amount of violence in Canadian prisons? Yes, indeed it does lower violence levels in Canadian prisons. Through the use of animal-assisted therapy in prisons, violence levels decrease due to changes in prisoner behaviors and attitudes (Black et al., 2011) (Furst, 2006) (Walsh, 2009), an improved prison environment (Britton & Button, 2005) (Jasperson, 2010), and the ability for prisoners to give back to their community (Britton & Button, 2005) (Furst, 2006). Over the past two decades, animal assisted therapy (AAT) through prison-based animal programs has improved the behavior and attitudes of prisoners (Furst, 2006). Rather than...
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...cannot merely "pull themselves together" and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people with depression (Dryden-Edwards, et. al., 2010). Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a relatively new field of study, although the human-animal bond has existed for thousands of years. AAT is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. The goal of AAT is to improve a patient’s social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. Animals can also be useful for educational and motivational effectiveness for participants (American Humane Association, 2010). Animals are tools for therapy because they can make people feel safe and loved when they have been deprived of social interaction or hurt by other people. They do not communicate with words, and so patients afraid of approaching people can comfortably approach an animal. For the elderly, the companionship of owning a pet can be valuable, especially if they do not have any family or friends nearby to visit. The pet loves them i[n an unconditional way that supports their idea of identity; they can, in effect, make someone feel young and worthwhile again. They also provide an opportunity for fun and relaxation. Animals or pets play lots of roles like comforting the elderly and working with Alzheimer’s patients, helping them to access emotions and memories. In this study, the researchers used the tool created by Aaron T....
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...to from the abstract, it has the population of residents in the long-term care facility. The intervention is having animal-assisted therapy for 30 minutes once a week for six weeks (pg. 396). The participants are compared by splitting some of the residents as individuals with AAT (animal-assisted therapy) and the other by groups of two or four (combination of animal-human bonding and socialization). Throughout the abstract, the outcome is clearly considered, which is to determine the relative contribution of socialization and human-animal bonding as mechanisms by which AAT reduces loneliness (pg. 396). 2. Was the assignment of patients...
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...Abington-Jefferson Hospital (AJH) incorporates holistic practices in a clinical setting and animal-assisted therapy (AAT) or pet therapy is only one conventional method used. However, let’s review the connection between this health system and the core values of American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) Core Values and Standards of Practice. The vision of Abington Hospital is to be the most trusted healthcare partner and the mission is to promote healing, prevent harm and be kind. According to Erickson (2012), AHNA’s Core Value the backbone of Holistic Nursing vitality and interdependence of all things, including consciousness, the nurse as a healer, being available and caring, operating with purpose, and unconditional...
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...reason to keep fighting. These animals give the teenagers a feeling of being wanted and appreciated. For example has Nick used his beloved dog to fill out the hole, which his parents caused him because of their divorce. Another example is Sarah who has found happiness in her life because of her horse. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a name for pairing animals with troubled teenagers. The concept of AAT is to show how animals can be used as a form of therapy for teens with problems. The article also mentions that there are physical benefits when you have contact with animals. It can prevent lower blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety. Outline of how animals may affect people’s quality of life These three texts give readers different examples of how animals affect people’s quality of life. Text 1 tells us how animals can be used for therapeutic purposes and how they can serve as a friend in need for teenagers with problems. Text 2 gives a story about a Muslim man who through his life has been scared of dogs because he as a child has been told that dogs are dirty. This text gives an insight in a totally different relationship to dogs, which are shown by fear and anxiety. It also shows how hard it can be to change one’s attitude towards dogs, as the author of the text signs up for a course on dog behaviour. In text 3 the focus is on elderly people living in nursing homes. They are experiencing increasing life quality through pet-therapy programs, which are giving the...
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...The overall intention of this project was to explore the available research into how canine therapy can be widely utilised in different contexts such as counselling situations, working with individuals with autism and how dogs are utilised as co- therapist. The literature is inundated with accounts reporting successes with Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and the number of professionals, programs and organisations that have embraced AAT continues to rise. Chapter One offers an explanation of Canine therapy and who it is used for and the theoretical perspectives that underpin the use of canine therapy. Chapter Two will be exploring the Benefits of Using Canines as Companion Animals for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Chapter Three will...
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...1.Search Strategies are important in narrowing down your field, and to determine that you get the correct search parameters that you are looking for. There are numerous strategies that can be used to research literature online using the PsycINFO database. The best way to start a search is to determine the specific research questions in order to guide the search, using key terms and parameters. It is also important to determine all synonyms, alternate terminology and any word variations to narrow your search. The use of Boolear Operations such as the words; “and”, “or” will change the search results. Using the word “and” between each search term will give results that contain all the search terms, where using the word “or” between search terms will give results that contain at least one of the search terms. Focusing your search using limiters such as the document type, methodology, publication type and year are helpful search strategies to use in conjunction with the afore mentioned strategies. Using a variety of search strategies is important to limit your search to make it as efficient and effective as possible. When I first started the basic search I used the words pet ownership, beneficial, and health. The search options I used were to find any of my search terms, publication year 2005-2015, and English. This search generated 572 116 results. There were too many results to determine the relevance of these search results. I then used a basic search again using all the...
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...Equine Assisted Psychotherapy The Benefits of Horses in Non-Traditional Therapy In the last few decades Animal-Assisted Therapy, or (AAT) has become more widely accepted and practiced as a tool in psychiatric medicine, as there are many positive effects on humans. One of the most beneficial subdivisions of Animal-Assisted Therapy is Equine Assisted Psychotherapy or (EAP) where patients are paired up with licensed therapists and equine specialists to conduct individual therapy sessions using the horse. Patients who use Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy learn about themselves, and process behaviors, feelings and patterns. Many EAP programs chose to pair patients with horses who always display similar personalities to help create a better mutual...
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...PET THERAPY IN SCHOOLS Northeast Range High School, located in Babbitt, MN, is a school with a sense of pride, support, and family. Students and teachers know each other by their first names creating an overall ‘at ease’ learning experience for most students attending the school. Currently, the school offers a multitude of services available for students in need. For those with physical or mental disabilities, Northeast Range offers special education, forms of physical and occupational therapy, ADAPT counseling, student support services, volunteers in education, reading corps, math corps, and life coaching. These services play an important role in the student's education in both the elementary and high school. All things considered, these programs each offer numerous things to those with mental and physical disabilities such as autism, traumatic brain injuries, speech or language impairment, intellectual disabilities, visual impairments, deafness, developmental delay, or emotional disturbance. But, could there still be a key component missing in the services available for those attending...
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...Equine Facilitated Therapies: They Just Work Animal assisted therapies (AAT) such as, horse therapies, have grown in popularity over the last couple of decades because people are beginning to realize exactly what horses can offer. Horses are not just here to be used for recreation, or just as "pasture pals," they have other significant qualities that many people in the past and present have disregarded. It has been eluded to that the practice of horse therapy originated from ancient Greece (Cameron and Robey 1) though, there is no conclusive evidence of this. However, some of histories important people such as Mark Twain recognized horses as a therapeutic tool by suggesting "the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man." Although...
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...Analyse des Marktes von Tierschutzvereine/-heime: Eine qualitative Studie der Beschreibung von Tierdienstleistungen und Identifikation von Kundentypen Wissenschaftliche Arbeit zur Erreichung des Grades Bachelor of Arts ZUSAMMENFASSUNG DER ARBEIT Der Markt für Tierdienstleistungen von Tierschutzvereinen/-heimen ist unerforscht. Ebenso existieren keine Forschungsergebnisse über das Kundensegment des Zielmarktes von Tierschutzdienstleistungen. Die Arbeit „Analyse des Marktes von Tierschutzvereine/heime und deren Tierdienstleistungen“ legt daher einen besonderen Schwerpunkt auf die Identifizierung von Kundentypen und stellt wichtige Informationen für das Geschäftsmodell des Dienstleisters dar. Die Forschungslücken werden zum einen durch eine Marktanalyse für das Dienstleistungsangebot von Tierschutzvereinen/-heimen geschlossen. Zum anderen werden die Kundentypen durch eine qualitative Interviewstudie und einem induktiv entwickelten Kategoriensystem identifiziert. Insgesamt sind nur drei der sieben bestimmten Kundentypen lukrativ für das Geschäftsmodell des Dienstleisters. Die Kundentypen der bisherigen Forschung bilden in dieser Arbeit lediglich Idealtypen ab. Es bedarf einer feineren Analyse. Diese sollen Aspekte der eigenen Persönlichkeit sowie demographische, geographische und biographische Faktoren berücksichtigen, um die Facetten eines Typen einheitlich zu erfassen. 1 EINLEITUNG UND PROBLEMSTELLUNG Bisher ist wenig bekannt über die Marktstrukturen und dem Dienstleistungsangebot...
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