While it might be true that a dog is man’s and woman’s best friend, some dogs go above and beyond. In fact, you can now expect to see a shaggy Lab make rounds at the hospital. In honor of March being Social Work Month, we wanted to shine some light on these talented, brave, and compassionate pups.
And while dogs are the most common animal used in therapy, cats, birds, and horses are used, as well.
Why Are Pets Used for Therapy?
According to the Mayo Clinic, ”Animal-assisted therapy can reduce pain and anxiety in people with a range of health problems.” Stroking a pet releases endorphins in the body, which relieve stress and anxiety and boost your mood. Petting a dog, cat, or other pet even sends a rush of dopamine to the brain, which can alleviate feelings of pain.
By working with an animal, the patient’s emotional or physical health can improve as well as their ability to think and reason. They can give the patient a sense of self-worth or provide companionship to someone who has lost a loved one. They can also take a patient’s mind of their environment or their symptoms.
Conditions that AAT might help are:
- Increase self-esteem
- Improve overall mood
- Develop social skills
- Improve motor skills after a stroke or an accident
- Increase a patient’s desire to exercise
- Decrease depression and feelings of isolation
- Reduce anxiety
- Teaching empathy
- Reduce pain
- Treat autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
There are three basic types of Animal Assisted Therapy:
- Therapeutic visitation animals: the animal is brought to a facility to help treat patients that primarily live at the care facility.
- Animal-assisted therapy animals: the patient lives with the animal that assists them in their daily lives.
- Facility therapy animals: the facility has animals that are regularly used in inpatient treatment.
How Are Pets Used for Therapy?
This makes trained therapy pets ideal candidates for visiting those in need of stress-relief, pain-relief, and anxiety-relief. This is when trainers or handlers bring animals to places like hospitals, assisted living centers, schools, or detention centers to help those in need a friendly, furry face to cheer them up and help patients maintain their mental health.
Other therapy animals are full-time therapy companion animals. These sweet creatures keep people company and help keep their minds off their physical or emotional challenges.
What Animals are Used in Animal Assisted Therapy?
While a variety of animals are used in Animal Assisted Therapy, such as dogs, cats, birds, pigs, and horses, dogs are the most common choice. AAT animals need to have the right attitude or disposition. They have to be calm and friendly. They have to be affectionate and work well with people that they have just met.
Most of the time, larger, mixed breed dogs are used. But not every animal qualifies. They have to be trained and certified in order to be used in this role.
How Can You Get Involved or Help?
If you want to get involved, you can by getting certified to train therapy animals. In order to be certified, you will usually need an advanced degree in the Mental Health field. There are a number of schools that offer AAT certification.
If you would like to get involved more informally, you and your pet can contact one of the following groups for information.
- Alliance of Therapy Dogs
- American Hippotherapy Association
- Good Dog Foundation
- Happy Tails
- Love on a Leash
- Path International
- Paws for People
- Pet Partners
- Therapet
- Therapy Dogs International
For those that would like to financially support AAT, all of the groups mentioned will gladly accept donations. You might also look into the Human Animal Bond Research Institute that studies the benefits that pets have on the lives of their humans.
Are There Downsides to Animal Assisted Therapy?
Animal Assisted Therapy is not for everyone, and it is only a complementary treatment, but it can effectively improve other forms of therapy. You also have to remember that some have allergies to pets, others are fearful of animals, and others form too strong a bond with these animals, so care must be taken when introducing pets to a therapy regime.
So next time you are visiting a friend in the hospital, you might want to tuck a couple of puppy snacks in your pocket in case you run into a pup pawing around the facility, putting smiles on the faces of patients.