Johnson is now working on a new project with likely benefits for dogs and humans. Military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are providing shelter dogs with basic obedience training. Animals can also act as therapists themselves or facilitate therapy — even when they’re not dogs or cats. “Oxytocin has some powerful effects for us in the body’s ability to be in a state of readiness to heal, and also to grow new cells, so it predisposes us to an environment in our own bodies where we can be healthier.” We can say that pets provide a safe place for people, and during illness or emotional struggle, this can be very helpful in the process of recovery.
They’re not service animals
Therapy animals are also showing up in schools, especially schools that work with special-needs students. Teachers and therapists find that students make greater gains when working with animals. Bringing trained service animals into these programs and schools can help these students achieve greater social and academic performance, so this practice is becoming more common. Rehabilitation centers may partner with therapy animals and their handlers to help patients achieve faster rehab and get home more quickly.
What’s the Difference Between Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals?
While you cannot eliminate this risk completely, in reality, the training these animals receive and the skill of therapy animal handlers make this a small risk. The benefits of improved healing and mental health far outweigh this small risk. While unlikely to be harmful, they may or may not produce desired therapeutic benefits and should be further researched to determine their long-term effects. Others, such as equine therapy, have a wealth of research supporting their positive impact on recipients’ mental health. Emotional support animals may be helpful to those with certain mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety.
Mental Health Benefits of Animal Assisted Interventions
Anxious patients experience slowed breathing, and interaction with welcoming animals actually boosts the immune system as well. Some researchers have found an increase in salivatory immunoglobulin A, which indicates a healthy immune system function, after people spend time petting a dog for less than 20 minutes. The release of oxytocin impacts the immune system and increases the pain threshold, helping people heal more quickly. While the mental health benefits of interacting with animals are well-known, many people are surprised to note that animal therapy positively impacts physical health. It’s easy to say that animals can help make people calmer, happier, and even more fulfilled. But are emotional support animals really that different from any beloved pet?
Some residential treatment centers are organized around long-term AAT, offering a camp-like environment, programs for nature immersion, animal training sessions, and other opportunities. Grief camps, for example, offer children who have experienced personal loss how does alcohol affect blood pressure the opportunity to work through emotional experiences with horses or dogs. Organizations offering AAT might give participants a variety of animals to choose from by operating on a large farm or creating a type of petting zoo filled with AAT-approved animals.
Not only zoonosis could be a risk, but also other common infections as MRSA. However, the application of hygiene protocols consented an effective risk minimization [39]. Moreover, the repeated health screenings for the animals and the careful selection of patients, using special precautions in case of open wounds and immunosuppression can help to control the risks [37]. Another risk is allergy; anyhow, the reasoned selection of patients and animals can effectively reduce this risk. Finally, animal-related accidents can be practically canceled following appropriate guidelines [39].
These agencies generally provide training in AAT and understanding animal body language, as well as best practices in therapy animal welfare. They also often provide special liability insurance and may help you connect with programs that are looking to work with therapy animals. If the animal is not well cared for, this will reflect badly in the therapy sessions and raise the potential for the human or the animal to be harmed. Although not required by law, it is strongly suggested that therapists become registered with a certifying therapy animal agency. Animal-assisted education (such as having children practice reading to dogs) also has therapeutic benefits and often involves formal treatment plans. However, as it is an educational rather than therapeutic activity, it does not have to be conducted by a licensed health professional (Fine, 2019a).
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. The increased demand for ESA’s sometimes places therapists in a bind as well. More and more, patients request letters of documentation supporting their need for an emotional support animal from their psychologist, therapist, or doctor. The number of emotional support animals appears to be growing every year. United Airlines, one of the largest airline carriers in the US, reported a 75% increase in the number of emotional support animals flying on the airline between the years 2016 and 2017.
These studies outlined the potential risk related not only to typical zoonosis, but also to common human infections as MRSA [17], [44]. However, reviews and guidelines suggested that the implementation of all security precautions could substance dependence effectively minimize risks [16], [37], [38], [39], [40]. Therefore, the identification of patients receiving AAI should be carefully conducted. On the contrary, other works did not explicitly refer to any of these procedures.
The release of endorphins may ease the symptoms of depression and allow the client to feel more calm and secure. Since physical touch is rarely a part of psychotherapy, a therapy animal in the room may allow the client a safe, non-threatening way to engage in physical touch (Chandler, 2017). A child who is struggling to read may feel more comfortable reading aloud to a therapy animal than in front of other children or adults. AAE programs appear to be quite successful, and some studies even show that university students score higher on standardized tests when a therapy animal is in the room (Compitus, 2021b). However, in equine therapy, the process of integrating horses into psychotherapy can be very successful for people of all conditions and populations.
If you’re interested in trying animal-assisted therapy, having a conversation with a doctor or mental health specialist is a good place to start. Your insurance may not cover animal-assisted therapy, but it’s worth looking into. Sessions can range in price from $100 to over $300, depending addiction relapse on what the session entails and who’s in charge. You may be able to get a lower rate if you’re willing to work with a clinical intern rather than a licensed therapist. Research from 2016 has also linked animal-assisted therapy to improved blood flow in people experiencing heart failure.
Unlike animal-assisted activities or animal-assisted interventions, animal-assisted therapy must be goal directed, conducted by a licensed professional, and involve a formal treatment plan (Compitus, 2021b). Any type of therapist may conduct AAT, including occupational or physical therapists, although when we refer to AAT, we are typically speaking about animal-assisted psychotherapy. Pet therapy is a guided interaction between a person and a trained animal. The purpose of pet therapy is to help someone recover from or cope with a health problem or mental disorder. Furthermore, the data regarding animal welfare during the intervention lacked in most of the studies. Then, it would be interesting to further deepen this topic, investigating, also, any adherence to specific guidelines.
The animal will spend a set amount of time with a patient (usually around 15 minutes), who gets to pet the animal and ask the owner questions. The presence of the animal provides a needed distraction and helps reduce stress for the patient, and this can speed up healing. Animal Assisted Therapy is conducted by licensed practitioners like psychotherapists, social workers, or other mental health experts.
- In object-relations theory, we think of the psyche in relation to others in the childhood environment and of how those early relationships affect the client today.
- Other types of animals, such as miniature horses, can also serve as ESAs.
- Some of the more unusual emotional support animals that have flown with their owners include a pig, a duck, a monkey, and a turkey.
- A number of organizations train handlers and connect them to healthcare providers.
- Two of the selected hospitals interrupted the AAA program, during 2003, due to the onset of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
- The increased pain threshold that comes with the oxytocin release can also motivate people to push harder in their therapy programs.
However, it has been shown that the positive effects of playing and petting an animal are also measurable in people without underlying clinical conditions. In general, the interaction with a pet decreases distress and improves mood. It has been around for over a century, and first popularized by Florence Nightingale, a nurse who noticed that patients with chronic illness felt better when they had the chance of interacting with animals. Now, pet therapy programs, also known as animal-assisted therapy, is offered not only at universities for stressed out students, but hospitals, nursing homes, and basically everywhere there are people. As a result, in many areas of science, published findings are heavily biased toward positive results.
Eligibility depends on the care setting and the condition of the person to receive the therapy. Animal therapy has many favorable outcomes, including relaxation, talk therapy breakthroughs, relief of symptoms, and overall improved well-being. Studies suggest that people who pet animals experience the release of serotonin, prolactin and oxytocin hormones that can play a part in elevating moods. Imagine going to the hospital to have surgery and being able to take your favorite pet with you.
In some cases, people may become possessive of the animals helping them and be reluctant to give them up after a session. Besides, the effects of AAI were assessed focusing on physiological parameters. The most assessed were blood pressure [6], [27], outlining a significant effect in decreasing this parameter, heart rate [13], [28], [35] and respiratory rate [13], [35]. Indeed, Cole et al. did not identify any significant change in this parameter [13]. Another positive effect outlined was the actual distance walked in patients with chronic heart failure [29].
All animals used for AAT must be selected carefully, avoiding the most dangerous species as reptiles and primates [16]. Moreover, animals must follow strictly veterinary health screenings, vaccine programs, and be specifically trained for these activities. To minimize the allergic risk, bathing and grooming animals prior each session could be useful. Finally, inclusion of patients with severe immunosuppression, known allergy or animal phobia should be carefully considered, assessing benefits and risks [16], [38], [39], [40], [41]. In particular, Sehulster et al. reported the CDC guidelines for environmental infection control in health-care facilities, including a section regarding the safety of AAA and resident animals programs in healthcare settings. On the contrary, in their guidelines [16], Sehr et al. considered exclusively a program of private pet-visitation in hospital.
People are more likely to speak openly and honestly during AAT sessions because they are more at ease. Many therapists believe that animal-assisted therapy results in greater insight into their clients. It’s an opportunity to feel comforted by pets, but it isn’t as goal-oriented as AAT. People who have animals involved in their therapy sessions tend to have a better view of their therapists. AAT has counselors, social workers, and therapists who involve animals in other types of therapy.
A review study notes that animal therapy appears to provide general benefits for both physical and psychological health. Evidence for animal assisted therapy appears strongest for markers of anxiety and depression in the widest range of people. Two reviews [37], [39] considered the potential risks of animal use in healthcare settings, considering infections, allergies and bites. Precisely, Khan et al. considered the AAA or AAT implementation in healthcare settings, especially in hospitals [37]. The second review focused specifically on the healthcare environment of Europe and North America [39]. The zoonosis can be a risk especially for very young, old or immunosuppressed patients [37], [39].