Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy

Animal-assisted therapy is a form of therapeutic practice that uses animals, typically horses or dogs, as a way to facilitate trust and comfort for clients. The use of animal assisted therapy is a fairly new concept, and has been gaining popularity in recent years. This type of practice aids in helping patients through mental traumas, physical pains, and a variety of other issues. Animal assisted therapy first became popular in the 1960’s under the name “pet therapy” and was first put into practice by a Dr. Boris Levinson, however pet therapy can be traced back to the 1700’s. Some of the benefits include:

  • Petting animals releasing an automatic calming and relaxation response

  • Mental activity is increased

  • Animals can act as ice-breakers in therapy because of the relaxation response people get from petting or holding an animal.

  • Physically, this form of therapeutic practice helps reduce blood pressure and improves heart and blood flow functions

  • Releases a hormone called Phenylethylamine (same hormone released when eating chocolate)

These are just some of the few benefits of animal assisted therapy. A psychologist named Dr. Levinson studied the effects of animal assisted therapy with children using his dog, Jingles, as a therapy animal. His findings were that the children that appeared withdrawn and not as responsive to normal therapy sessions, often were more talkative and responded more positively with the dog being there.

A different study in later years aimed to test different age groups and the effectiveness of animal assisted therapy on each group. The adult group consisted of patients with mental disabilities or with mental illnesses such as dementia. Adults within the study that had dementia showed signs of less irritability and more compliance when introduced to an animal as a stimulus for their brain while in their session. The study overall showed how diverse animal assisted therapy can be depending on the targeted age group and the reactions that were given. The process of becoming a licensed animal assisted therapist requires becoming certified and trained in either online classes or in person at a university as one of your specializations. Some programs can cater to your specific animal and clientele group so that you are getting the proper education and training. An online program will most likely require video evidence such as a video of an animal assisted session. Prerequisites for becoming certified as an animal assisted therapist would require that one would have at least a graduate degree in any mental health tracks, and that they have at least one approved animal to work with.

Animal assisted therapy is a newly popular therapeutic practice that employs animals as a form of comfort, an ice breaker, and a source for anxiety or blood pressure reduction for patients. It’s founder, Dr. Levinson, believed that using animal assisted therapy with children would allow for a more comfortable environment and facilitate a productive session. This type of therapeutic practice is used mainly with children because it has been found to be the most effective in sessions for that age group.


- Written by Kylie Hamacher, Undergraduate Intern

 

References:

User, S. (n.d.). Home. Online Certificate of Education in Animal Assisted Psychotherapy - Animal Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.animalassistedtherapyprograms.org/animal-assisted-therapy-professional-training/online-course

Morgan Grajeda - csustan.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/groups/McNair%20Scholars%20Program/20192020Journals/morgan_grajeda_f.pdf

Animal-Assisted Therapy Research. UCLA People-Animal Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.uclahealth.org/pac/animal-assisted-therapy

Animal assisted therapy: Alliance of therapy dogs. Alliance of Therapy Dogs Inc. (2021, June 4). Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.therapydogs.com/animal-assisted-therapy/

 

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