Animal Assisted Interventions

Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) are a clinical technique that leverages the unique bond between humans and animals to enhance the therapeutic process, build rapport, and promote holistic well-being. These interventions are increasingly recognized for their effectiveness in complementing traditional talk-therapy modalities and addressing a variety of physical and mental health concerns.

Human-animal interaction: Any situation where there is interchange between humans and animals at an individual or cultural level. These interactions are diverse and idiosyncratic and may be fleeting or profound…considered to be therapeutic, but in which there is no ongoing relationship between the human and animal.

Human-animal bond: A mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship that is influenced by behaviors that are essential to the health and well-being of both human and animal…the relationship includes recognition, reciprocity, and persistence

Animal-assisted activities (AAA) involve casual interactions between individuals and therapy animals in settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and rehabilitation centers. These interactions are often aimed at providing comfort, companionship, and joy to participants rather than achieving specific therapeutic goals.

Animal Assisted Activities

  • Informal interactions that can be led by professionals, paraprofessionals and volunteers
  • Must have received some form of assessment or introductory training
  • Activities have a wide variety of purposes including motivational, educational, and recreational (IAHAIO, 2014).
  • Commonly seen in nursing homes and hospitals (Chandler, 2012)

 

Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) involve using animals, typically trained therapy animals, as part of a therapeutic or treatment process to promote physical, emotional, cognitive, or social well-being in humans. These interventions can take various forms and are implemented by professionals across different fields, including healthcare, education, and mental health.

Animal Assisted Intervention

  • “a goal-oriented and structured intervention that intentionally includes or incorporates animals in health, education, and human services (e.g. social work) for the purpose of therapeutic gains in humans”
  • While an intervention differs from therapy, there may be inherent therapeutic gains made by the client through the intentional inclusion of an animal such as building rapport with the therapist, motivation to attend appointments, catharsis throughout appointments, opportunities for unstructured play and conversation, and endless opportunities for guided conversation based on the animal-collaborator (Chandler, 2012; Nimer & Lundahl, 2007).

 

In animal-assisted therapy (AAT), a trained therapy animal, such as a dog or horse, is incorporated into treatment sessions led by a licensed healthcare professional. The presence of the animal can help facilitate rapport, reduce stress and anxiety, increase motivation, and improve overall mood during therapy sessions.

Animal Assisted Therapy

  • A goal-directed, therapeutic intervention facilitated by a human services professional, with deliberate inclusion of an animal in a therapeutic treatment plan
  • Involves a licensed therapist who is trained to guide interactions between a patient and an animal to reach specific goals (Chandler, 2012; IAHAIO, 2014)
  • Must utilize a plan, monitor client progress, and be documented in therapy notes (IAHAIO, 2014)
  • The inclusion of an animal is designed to accomplish outcomes believed to be difficult to achieve without the animal (Nimer & Lundahl, 2007)
  • Emphasizes the mutually beneficial and reciprocal interchange between humans and animals (Russow, 2002; Hosey & Melfi, 2014).

 

Citations and Permalinks for Readings: 

Acri, M., Morrissey, M., Peth-Pierce, R., Seibel, L., Seag, D., Hamovitch, E. K., Guo, F., Horwitz, S., & Hoagwood, K. E. (2021). An equine-assisted therapy for youth with mild to moderate anxiety: Manual development and fidelity. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(10), 2461–2467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02011-4 https://proxy.ulib.csuohio.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edssjs&AN=edssjs.355FEE79&site=eds-live&scope=site
Anestis, M., Anestis, J., Zawilinski, L., Hopkins, T., & Lilienfield, S. 2014. Equine-related treatments for mental disorders lack empirical support: A systematic review of empirical investigations. Journal of Clinical Psychology 70(12): 1115–1132. https://proxy.ulib.csuohio.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbl&AN=RN362954676&site=eds-live&scope=site
Bachi, K. 2012. Equine-facilitated psychotherapy: The gap between practice and knowledge. Society & Animals 20(4): 364–380. https://proxy.ulib.csuohio.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=83591228&site=eds-live&scope=site
Bachi, K. 2013. Application of attachment theory to equine assisted psychotherapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 43(3): 187–196. https://rave.ohiolink.edu/ejournals/article/313782290
Bachi, K., Terkel, J., & Teichman, M. (2012, January 1). Equine-facilitated psychotherapy for at-risk adolescents: The influence on self-image, self-control and trust. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), 298–312. https://rave.ohiolink.edu/ejournals/article/325434481
Beetz, A., Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Julius, H., & Kotrschal, K. (2012). Psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of human-animal interactions: the possible role of oxytocin. Frontiers in psychology, 3, 234. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00234 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408111/
Berget, B., & Ihlebæk, C. 2011. Animal-assisted interventions; effects on human mental health-A theoretical framework. In Uehara, T. (Ed.). Psychiatric Disorders-Worldwide Advances. Retrieved from https://www.intechopen.com/books/psychiatric-disorders-worldwide-advances https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/20973
Bert, F., Gualano, M. R., Camussi, E., Pieve, G., Voglino, G., & Siliquini, R. (2016). Animal assisted intervention: A systematic review of benefits and risks. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 8(5), 695–706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eujim.2016.05.005 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7185850/
Burgon, H. L. 2011. Queen of the world: Experience of ‘at-risk’ young people participating in equine-assisted learning therapy. Journal of Social Work Practice 25(2): 165–183. https://proxy.ulib.csuohio.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=104897560&site=eds-live&scope=site
Burgon, H. L. 2014. Equine assisted therapy and learning with at-risk young people. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. n/a
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Carlsson, C. 2016. Equine-assisted Social Work or Therapy–Addressing Gaps and Contradictory Results. In Equine Cultures in Transition: Human-horse relationships in theory and practice: changing concepts of interaction and ethics 27-29 Oktober. n/a
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Dashper, K. (2017). Listening to Horses: Developing Attentive Interspecies Relationships through Sport and Leisure. Society & Animals, 25(3), 207–224. https://proxy.ulib.csuohio.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbl&AN=RN611537783&site=eds-live&scope=site
Esbjorn, R. J. 2006. When horses heal: A qualitative inquiry into equine facilitated psychotherapy. (Doctoral dissertation.) Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, CA. n/a
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Ewing, C., MacDonald, P., Taylor, M., & Bowers, M. (2007). Equine-Facilitated Learning for Youths with Severe Emotional Disorders: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study. Child & Youth Care Forum, 36(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-006-9031-x https://rave.ohiolink.edu/ejournals/article/324169833
Fine, A. H. (Ed.). (2019). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Foundations and guidelines for animal-assisted interventions. Academic press. https://scholar.csuohio.edu/record=b4589049
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Geist, T. 2011. Conceptual framework for animal assisted therapy. Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work 28: 243–256. https://rave.ohiolink.edu/ejournals/article/326655097
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Ng Z, Albright J, Fine A, Peralta J (2015). Chapter 26 Our Ethical and Moral Responsibility: Ensuring the Welfare of Therapy Animals – Fine, AH. Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy (Fourth Edition) (pp. 357-373). San Diego: Academic Press.
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Ng, Z., Albright, J., Fine, A. H., & Peralta, J. (2015). Our ethical and moral responsibility: Ensuring the welfare of therapy animals. In Handbook on animal-assisted therapy (pp. 357-376). Academic Press. https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/321608/3-s2.0-C20170033153/3-s2.0-B9780128153956000122/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEL3%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIEHutkEgUHO%2Bc6%2FaHBQDRnR8Jr2HnyMQRDYWO7glO6FhAiEAke6J1M33mrWX38AwCdq16PMtakfK3%2BNSh1y70KF0XGcqswUIRhAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDP3456XboM4YsCfZxSqQBR1sKNGpcZKe%2BX5VLHPwP3mYLVMFo3RvRz2C9YKM475sropelWg%2B%2F6%2FzD0%2BKnfLQQlctoobzEs7dLMVERCUbvYPN6o9SD2ogom6zYmZ9UYxilF7hlFuTRmd8nVS0qcDuAEyaFg0RpRx45bcMcQ2SfOwNdKRewIaR%2B8G6whtPrZWh9Tkgxo%2BGywnK5C0l0289O4gb61XCk3%2Fg6nwT4BRnZGgqjYEZ334xbsMUFaO8WZuyx42JrubQycsQd7Sza8LqFpVbz8wbpDbRf3shH8kJ22IOdzwjUF9BylnkndCuC9%2B1k0QOTOp72T%2FQu5PPZBweVySyO7rDG8bznV2ZW6EHcETkepUJjmClXlEXm3o6NMRAftJSvIFoPTy3a3hG8SMsfgXfeXquwaBcc4TFXUFwvh%2BaRaKx3j4iTKXlQiIgOO48xaEMtGdoZ%2F5LnunJX9X5xAC4hKXj%2BqWMvQWpsz8dHCLCN%2FWgYcyQYRB4Bhdqov70TmYIzSHL6cZ%2B9hUD71ybarZiw1PHJHfTv%2BG%2BcHaI5c7DNerhXrcOPLRfo3xFGvt4SQeKKglBB9uFbY4QQ3GjsW99BYldJ0dEZsteszUvvD9YqSUXBcNJKosWM6m9qIPrqOb5MZ2ItxHenDV4Cgudce0nRdQwF4apdCzrxSrFP5A8eBwOG0dsnQu%2BNqxfLY%2FJwtNLOYQDeE3uDpF8YKXc9k51oPoQsCaeKc%2FAigxCpc%2FOHbGLubrjjX%2FDbQau3xBJ2DsfclTwmtUjYfOdy888UZ0dgLDNAWzF4ySu%2BCQfFL%2BIQVXiXyi6Uhe8E%2FiNzPDOfCf1FwpLWDjXqpyinhnBjHBheKyb37w5tBFy7TeoLWYYTW8OAijx%2BQNdAbKf%2BbBiMM2R57IGOrEB1x1t3FUMkqoQkY0a1NkFYJSvH0EM%2BmeDI93sCZGpVsMo4o8MGBuyc5EqexI2yzvETCmImmi44f71ELZ8pHd8o8k84yIFcaLdlIq%2B8Lq5swuG6RB38P1bekfMZ8iUeMMqwHJw1mBQ1W1kfT%2B1v9ywPSBkorlfuI5NuPlRXpqTsqwzf5G36dUK86J4mkXQwPz8nL%2BG1LG6fSk%2BiMe6xkFSY2uz8WCMV39Pvynx1RwjfdNI&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20240531T141537Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY2VFCIPPJ%2F20240531%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=191e23fac9a93a544af4a18f05c939ebd41bbd0d24ad894d16d0f89bbcad8c55&hash=c290a56b162830c30cee288a7f35d72b5f543c8838e3ffac5026b0f5dd557ce3&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=B9780128153956000122&tid=spdf-a1cc83f0-e9a6-46e6-9994-403c7a463bc5&sid=f37debea700d26459e7873d1c92e23d25853gxrqa&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=11145e590150565c0c&rr=88c793b81910224c&cc=us
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