Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)

Animal Assisted Therapy also known as animal-assisted therapy has been formally introduced to the world in the last ten years or so. Although animals have always been a place of comfort for a lot of people, scientists just began to realize the impact animals have on society. The world has begun to experiment with what animals can do to benefit human health. The most common type of animal-assisted therapy is equine-assisted therapy. Equines are horses. Equine-assisted therapy 's impact on minors who have mental health issues have led to a successful new type of therapy that includes multiple benefits. Equine-assisted therapy has worked well in is treating adolescents and children how to communicate and connect with others. Two big issues that animal-assisted therapy has been known to help is Autism and kids with attachment and social problems.

Animal Assisted Therapy dates back to the early 18th century. It was used to help the mentally ill patients at the York Retreat in England. They would allow animals to wander the grounds with the patients and it was believed that is was helpful in increasing the socialization of the patients. The first documented use of an animal therapy was when Dr. Boris Levinson accidentally left his dog and a difficult child alone and when he came back the child was calm and talking with the dog. Today animals are being used in many different environments to help assist patients with their daily activities. Over the years, studies have shown that some animal assisted therapy has been more affective on people than the use of a medication.

The research proposal suggests that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) can be beneficial to those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Altschuler, 2018). expresses the information from the media is often much more detailed and less filtered than those of medical reports as they use these media stories as their resources for compiling the research proposal. The author expresses their concern for the cost and timeliness of a full-out research study and so they decided to conduct a research proposal to support their ideologies of the importance of AAT with PTSD treatment. Altschuler (2018) suggests that animals can be used to dramatically improve PTSD symptoms, potential benefit from AAT with multiple different animals, and that AAT

A woman with posttraumatic stress disorder said, “It was such a breakthrough. I think I’m a very different person having had these experiences” (Meinersmann et al., 2008, p. 39), while discussing her therapy program. However, no traditional therapy program brought this response; instead, it was equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP). Equine assisted psychotherapy is a form of treatment, which uses horses as facilitators to improve mental health. Though some people dismiss EAP as a developing approach, horses may offer opportunities to heal that human therapists cannot. First, the horses encourage engagement in therapy sessions through the opportunities they offer and the equine environment (Bachi et al., 2012; Masini, 2010). Second, horses may

Winston Churchill once stated,“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man,” that statement certainly rings true when discussing the topic of Equine Assisted Therapy. Since Ancient Greece, people have been using horseback riding as a form of therapy to help people who are disabled to improve their lives physically, mentally, and emotionally. Despite the fact that horseback riding is typically dismissed as a form of physical therapy, the physical, mental, and emotional benefits prove that therapeutic riding is a valuable form of therapy.

Over the years, animals have participated with great results in the treatment of the elderly and terminally ill. Now, Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is benefitting people diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with promising results. Veterans are the most notable with it comes to PTSD. These men and women share a deep sense of fellowship and believe that no one but another fellow soldier can understand what they have experienced. Helping veterans who are suffering as a result of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder has mostly been through counseling, medication, and partnering with other military veterans for support. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2017) A large number of people have often have been exposed to animals at a young age through having pets, pictures in books, going to the zoo, television, classrooms, blankets, or clothing. Pairing animals with humans to treat any number of ailments is a new route many people are taking as part of their treatment plan. The resent use of Animal Assisted Therapy for people that suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder has been on the rise in recent years to help with dealing with everyday life and recovery. Moreover, the healing process for PTSD has

Horses have been used as therapeutic aids in many different ways and forms. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is one of the types of Animal Assisted Therapy used to rehabilitate individuals with Physical and mental disorders. Specifically, Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) is a planned treatment using the horse as an integral part of the psychotherapy process (Lentini & Knox, 2009). In EFP, therapists work with horses with different styles and using various theories. Esbjorn (Lentini & Knox, 2009) reviewed the construct and found that there was a wide variety in the way therapists conceptualized EFP. Though the concepts of EFP or EAT are mostly similar, the methods of implying them vary from therapist to therapist. Each one has an individual style of the implementation of EAT. The different kinds of activities used in EAT may be ‘un-mounted activities such as herding and leading, non-traditional mounted

Scallion’s (2010) purpose in writing the article is to tell readers interested in animal therapy about the effects it has on children in school by sharing her own experiences on the subject. The text tells of Gretel, a therapy dog at the elementary school where Scallion worked as a principal. The article’s claim was supported through vignettes such as helping a boy with a phobia of school, and evidence from the book “Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling” by Cynthia Chandler. The article concluded that animal-assisted therapy benefits young students in many ways, such as improving mood, reducing anxiety, strengthening social skills, and providing comfort. The article states the benefits of having therapy animals in schools and provided real-world

Survivors of sexual abuse may reach a point in their lives where they find they need assistance from a professional in order to overcome the trauma of their experiences. Assisted animal therapy has been shown to make the task of having to recount painful and traumatic experiences much less daunting. Having an animal present in therapy sessions greatly increases the survivor’s ability to heal in a less threatening manner. An animal provides sympathy and comfort that are physically expressed without overstepping the therapist’s professional boundaries.

Horses have also proven to be especially effective as AAT animals, in this case treating PTSD. Horses are known to be sensitive to the moods of their riders by mimicking their emotional state. If a rider has negative emotional state, the horse may adopt that negativity as well and be difficult to maintain control of. Thus, horseback riding can be helpful to one with PTSD because it encourages self-awareness in the rider, as a result it may enable them to better manage their emotions (Whitney).

AAT utilizes trained and certified animals to improve an individual’s well-being in all aspects emotional, physical and social (Sellers, 2004). It is relatively a new treatment and was initially implemented by Boris Levinson in his psychotherapy practice (Perkins et al., 2008). AAT, with its tactile comfort and companionship as well as a mode of social interaction, encourages a positive attitude and eases the negative effect of living in a retirement facility (Perkins et al., 2008). Unlike interventions with humans which tends to be judgmental and biased, animals tend to be more friendly and non-judgmental thus, facilitating more sociable behaviors than even more than the well-intentioned staff members (LaFrance et al., 2007).

Many pet owners perceive to say that having a pet is the best thing in the whole world. In the United States, about 63% of households have a furry friend to call their own. They come in many different colors and sizes that make them unique and fun to play with. However, owning a pet anywhere can be very controversial. Some people think that owning a pet can throw away most their money that they earn on a day to day basis. Even if that might be true, pets can also benefit people in many ways that is worth spending a little extra money. In my opinion, I think that everyone should have a pet of their own because they can improve health, can provide entertainment, and create a special friendship or companionship with its owner. (6)

Animal assisted therapy includes all psychological theories and incorporates animals, such as dogs or horses, into a therapeutic treatment plan. It is used to enhance and complement traditional therapy methods, but it is not done by itself. Animal assisted therapy has been effectively used in individuals with autism, medical conditions, and trauma survivors. It may also be implemented for people with psychological disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, and addiction. Depending on the type of therapy and the type of animal involved, you may keep the therapy animal at home and with you throughout the day for emotional support, or you might learn to ride and care for a therapy horse that is kept at an equestrian facility. Afterwards, you

In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.

Throughout history, animals have always been with human beings. Animals began to be companions for humans over 15,000 years ago in villages. Alan M. Beck explained how human and animal interaction decreased blood pressure but also indicated a more relaxed emotional state. An