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Animal Assisted Therapy In Prisons

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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 …show more content…
The daily interaction of an inmate with a dog allows the inmate to feel calmer rather than containing feelings of stress, depression, anxiety, and anger (Furst, 2006). Walsh (2009) states that the interaction between a human and animal “increases neurochemicals associated with relaxation” (p. 466) which explains the calming effect an animal has on prisoners. The relaxation also lowers blood pressure (Black et al. 2011) and so decreases the inmate’s uneasy feelings. This practice in turn lowers the chance of a prisoner picking a fight or acting out through some other form of aggression. Another way that AAT improves prisoner behaviour is through the ability to provide a prisoner with a positive social figure (Furst, 2006). The prisoner can trust the dog since it knows nothing about the prisoner’s past (Furst, 2006). This companionship can be therapeutic to the prisoner since the ability for a prisoner to be accepted as a person is …show more content…
In most cases, all of the prisoners of the prison benefit in some way (Britton & Button, 2005). All prisoners feel calmer and less anxious from being around dogs (Jasperson, 2010). Just by seeing or touching the dogs every day, most inmates will be in a better mood. Therefore, instead of the overall angry, emotional mood of a regular prison, this new mood will spread throughout the prison atmosphere, reducing violence at a fast rate (Britton & Button,

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