The Role of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Enhancing Patients Well-Being: Systematic Study of the Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence

In the studies conducted by Hinic et al 28 and Branson et al 32, dog therapy was provided to children who were hospitalized, and their anxiety levels were assessed before and after the intervention. The results from the STAI for Children suggested that brief pet therapy visits served as a tool to decrease anxiety in children who were hospitalized and promote family satisfaction. McCullough et al 31 conducted a study where the intervention group participated in dog therapy, while the control group received standard care at the hospital. The findings demonstrated the applicability and effectiveness of AAT interventions in reducing stress and anxiety levels in patients with cancer.

What is animal-assisted therapy?

The researchers observed significant changes in mood before and after sessions involving therapy dogs. Specifically, negative moods decreased, while positive moods, such as feelings of happiness, relaxation, and calmness, increased. Overall, these findings highlight the efficacy of AAT in positively impacting the well-being and overall functioning of individuals with psychiatric disorders. Therapy animals are specifically trained animals that provide comfort and friendship to individuals with numerous mental issues.

Therapy with small animals like guinea pigs and rabbits offers a gentle, accessible form of animal-assisted therapy. Their calm nature and size make them ideal for schools, nursing homes and rehab centers as they help reduce anxiety while boosting social engagement and emotional well-being. However, it’s important to discuss with your doctor or therapist about whether pet therapy might be a suitable addition to your treatment plan.

However, select insurers are beginning to include pet therapy as a complementary healthcare option. 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. To combat this, hospitals and institutions have strict protocols to ensure their patients are not put at undue risk due to the presence of therapy animals. While pet therapy may offer various potential benefits, more rigorous research is needed to fully understand its effectiveness and limitations.

How is pet therapy administered?

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 6 trials that specifically addressed stress and anxiety used AAT interventions involving dog therapy. These studies exclusively targeted children and adolescents, using a randomized controlled design. In 5 of the studies, the therapy sessions lasted between minutes, while 1 study did not specify the duration of the intervention period.

In 1792, British philanthropist and quaker William Tuke incorporated birds and animals in the treatment plan for people with mental health needs in his asylum, The York Retreat. The broad category of animal-assisted interventions includes animal-assisted therapy (AAT), animal-assisted education (AAE), and animal-assisted activities (AAA). However, in most cases, people mistake animal-assisted activities (AAA) for animal-assisted therapy (AAT) or pet therapy. Animal-assisted therapy can boost physical activity by encouraging movement through walking, grooming or playing with animals. These interactions also enhance motivation by helping patients engage more actively in rehabilitation or exercise-based treatments.

Increased Social Interaction

• Animal therapy can be used alone or with other treatment options including medications and talk therapies.
• Additionally, all studies showed positive outcomes for depression and neurological disorders.
• One study specifically examined patients in child and adolescent psychiatry 33, while the remaining 5 studies focused on adult psychiatry patients 5,20,21,23,27.
• Animal interaction science teaches that hours spent with therapy animals significantly decrease stress and anxiety levels.

Beneficial for individuals in high-stress environments such as schools and workplaces, interactions with therapy animals can elevate mood and decrease physiological stress responses. Pet therapy involves the use of animals to support the treatment of physical and mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and high blood Animal Therapy Benefits pressure. Choose the suitable animals in making this selection, choices for a given program; goals and objectives should match a client’s preferences. Animal-assisted therapies (AAT) are approaches to mental health care that incorporate animals into the psychotherapy process, emphasizing the bond created during human-animal interactions.

“We go into various healthcare settings from hospitals, hospice, nursing homes, shelters, even the airport,” Morrison says of her visiting therapy dog. Animal-assisted therapy is using an animal as part of goal-oriented therapy sessions. If you’ve ever felt comforted by your family pet, you’ve had a glimpse into the benefits of animal-assisted therapy.

• One of the unique aspects of our study is the incorporation of both quantitative and qualitative analyses to provide a comprehensive understanding of the effects of AAT.
• Before getting approval for therapy use, both the animal and the handler will have to go through various certifications with these groups and organizations.
• While the benefits of animal-assisted therapy are well-documented, it’s crucial to acknowledge potential risks and ethical considerations as well.
• In contrast, the control group underwent physical therapy without any modifications to their normal routine.

What Is Pet Therapy?

A number of organizations train handlers and connect them to healthcare providers. Before getting approval for therapy use, both the animal and the handler will have to go through various certifications with these groups and organizations. The exact type of animal therapy can vary greatly depending on what condition the person has, the type of animal, and what kind of therapy they provide. The quiet and affectionate nature of cats makes them highly effective in settings like hospice care or even within individual therapy sessions.

A trained handler, often the pet’s owner, will take the animal to every meeting and work under your doctor or therapist’s direction to help you reach your goals. Additionally, some long-term care facilities may offer pet therapy programs to help improve the mood and general well-being of people in these facilities. In reality, animal-assisted therapy has a wide range of benefits that enhance physical, emotional, social, and mental well-being. Below, we will explore these benefits in more depth to emphasise why this approach is such a valuable addition to therapeutic programs. All the researchers carried out assessments to determine the likelihood of bias, and the results of these 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.

Individuals often feel more comfortable engaging with others when animals are present — which can improve communication and reduce feelings of isolation. To find a therapy animal program, you might start contacting your local mental health clinics, hospitals, or schools. In addition, some groups, like Pet Partners or the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, publish directories of certified therapy animal teams.

The number of studies with at least one statistically significant positive outcome measure, divided by patient condition and intervention category, is presented in Table 3. Animal-assisted therapy, also known as pet therapy, is a therapeutic intervention that involves animals to enhance the well-being of individuals across various populations and settings. Regardless of the species, it is important that therapy animals are well-trained, comfortable with lots of different people, and have a personality that is appropriate for the settings where they work. The most common type of animal used for animal therapy is a dog but other animals can be a therapy animal, too. Some types of animals are used more often because they’re compatibile with services provided. There are many benefits of animal therapy that go well beyond feelings of comfort and emotional support.

The researchers note that the therapy may be beneficial for people from many different age groups with various conditions. For example, a 2019 study found that the use of therapy dogs improved the efficacy of mental health treatments among adolescents. Owning a therapy or companion animal, such as a dog trained to sense and alleviate anxiety, is only loosely considered a type of animal-assisted psychotherapy. AAT, by definition, involves the active participation of a mental health professional. Studies that evaluate the benefits of AAT generally do not include evidence gathered from this particular population.