What is Animal-Assisted Therapy?
Wendy, an 11-year-old girl diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, was having serious meltdowns and defiance at home and school and was engaging in self-harming behaviors, including throwing her body to the ground and hitting herself when her mom brought her to therapy. Wendy’s parents had previously tried mental health therapy, but Wendy often refused to participate. Her mom appeared exhausted as she told me, her voice choking up, that this, coming to my office, was her Hail Mary: “I don’t know what else to do.”
After reviewing guidelines and getting consent, I introduced Wendy and her mom to my therapy dog, Riley, a maltipoo-chihuahua mix. Wendy immediately sat on the floor, and Riley approached, but when Wendy reached quickly to pet Riley, Riley paused and turned away. Wendy reached for Riley again and again, with the same result. She became frustrated and said, "She doesn’t like me.” At that point, I shared Riley’s rescue story, and while Wendy listened, her body became more relaxed, moving slower and settling down.
And Riley? Well, she went and sat on Wendy’s lap.
Without a single word, Riley provided Wendy immediate, non-confrontational feedback on how Wendy’s behaviors and emotional state were making her feel. When I pointed out that Riley was waiting for Wendy to relax her body, Wendy began to ask questions about body language and emotional energy.
Mom just observed as silent tears ran down her cheeks.
“This is amazing!” she said.
I smiled; this is animal-assisted therapy.
In this first interaction Wendy practiced multiple social and emotional skills, including increased spatial and internal body awareness, developing interpersonal non-verbal communication, increasing her frustration tolerance, building empathy for another, and unconsciously engaging in emotion regulation.
A Brief History
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is truly an amazing and growing evidence-based treatment modality in mental health counseling and healthcare. However, the human-animal bond (HAB) has been around for tens of thousands of years. Even formal therapy animals have been around for much longer than people realize. According to Serpell (2019), “relations with animals [have] played such a prominent role in human evolution that they have now become integral to our psychological well-being” (pg. 19). Even "ancient Greeks used horses to improve the overall well-being of individuals…and physicians as far back as the 1600s applied animal therapy on patients to improve their mental and physical ailments” (Fung, Mok, and Fung, 2024).
However, the terms ‘therapy animal’ and ‘animal-assisted therapy’ were not coined until 1964 by Boris Levinson (Fung, Mok, Fung, 2024). Levinson and his colleague Samuel Corson laid the foundations for animal-assisted therapy as a valid therapeutic modality in the United States after observing the impact animals had in their sessions. There is something about soft physical touch and healing tactile experiences, such as petting an animal, that soothes a person on a primal level. Furthermore, the presence of animals can be a buffer to stress, facilitate social support, foster emotional and cognitive growth, and be a source of unconditional love (Fine & Beck, 2019, pg. 7-8). The years following Levinson and Corson focused on further developing animal-assisted therapy competency and determining ethical concerns related to animal welfare. Certifying organizations were formed as researchers and advocates for AAT recognized a therapy dog is more than just a companion or pet. According to Mills et al. (2019), dogs involved in animal-assisted activities (AAA) differ from pet dogs because they “gaze longer at unfamiliar individuals without reinforcement and are less impulsive” (pg. 119).
Currently, there are many organizations across the country that certify therapy animals. Pet Partners, originally known as the Delta Society, is the oldest certifying organization in the United States, and they certify not just dogs but also cats, horses, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, llamas, alpacas, and more! However, others only certify therapy dogs, such as the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, American Working Dog Club, and RocDog Inc.
Definition
While no official definition has been curated within the animal-assisted therapy field. The American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA) recognizes the following definition for animal-assisted therapy.
“Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a goal-directed intervention in which an animal meeting specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. Animal-assisted therapy is delivered and/or directed by health or human service providers working within the scope of their profession. Animal-assisted therapy is designed to promote improvement in human physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. Animal-assisted therapy is provided in a variety of settings and may be group or individual in nature. The process is documented and evaluated.”
AAT is more than just having a dog in the room during sessions. Instead, the licensed provider is carefully facilitating specific types of interactions between a client and the therapy dog. For example, a client working on improving their frustration tolerance may be asked to teach the therapy animal a new trick over 2-3 sessions; a client may be struggling with self-awareness and therefore is asked to guide the therapy dog through an obstacle course without speaking, using only their body to communicate where they want the dog to go next. These would be considered directed animal-assisted interventions (AAI). An indirect AAI would be the therapy dog sitting next to the client, allowing the client to pet them while they are doing EMDR reprocessing as an alternative to the formal bilateral stimulation (BLS), helping the client stay grounded and present through their connection.
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is different from animal-assisted activities (AAA) and animal-assisted education (AAE). When a person volunteers with their certified therapy dog and visits community facilities, that is considered an animal-assisted activity, because there is no licensed provider facilitating the interactions between members of the community and the therapy dog. You will often see animal-assisted education in schools. This is when a person has a live animal present while they share information relevant to the animal. You may hear the term "animal ambassador" within animal-assisted education programs.
Benefits & Risks
There are many benefits associated with working with therapy animals. Some benefits that have been found in utilizing therapy animals include the following:
Animals help improve motivation and engagement in therapy.
Animals provide a sense of security and emotional support.
Animals can promote relaxation. Research has demonstrated that petting an animal can help lower blood pressure and heart rate and increase oxytocin (a feel-good chemical in the brain).
Animals can help the client learn frustration tolerance and other anger management techniques.
Animals can help in the areas of focus and attention.
Animals can help regulate our nervous system and promote emotional regulation
Animals can be instruments of learning, which can increase self-confidence and self-esteem.
Animals offer humor and fun due to their playful nature.
Animals in therapy ask for clients to develop empathy, nurturance, and responsibility and model other skills like forgiveness and patience.
However, even though there are many benefits to working with therapy animals, there are risks involved in utilizing this method of therapy. For example, dogs may nibble, accidentally scratch, lick, lean up against a client, vocalize, and/or cause light bruising. These actions are not aggression but rather accidental miscommunications and instinctive natural behaviors. In addition, if the client is allergic to dogs or is unaware of an allergy, the client may suffer from an allergic reaction.
Is AAT Right for Me?
Animal-assisted therapy is not for everyone. Clients must be screened for appropriateness just like any other treatment modality. If it is determined that a client is not appropriate, it could be for many reasons, such as a client having a history of animal abuse or cruelty, if a client has significant allergies to animals, or if a client regularly behaves in a way that is deemed by the provider as dangerous towards the well-being of their animal co-therapist. In these cases animal-assisted therapy would not be appropriate. Furthermore, animal-assisted therapy services can be rescinded from a client’s treatment plan if the client fails to listen to the therapy animal’s boundaries.
However, many people can benefit from animal-assisted therapy and the variety of interventions offered, both direct and indirect. Many people find having an animal present in the therapy room helps build the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the client, an essential part of the therapeutic process. Some clients may also find it easier to practice new strategies with an animal versus the therapist initially and find the presence of an animal to be a source of grounded mindfulness.
If you are curious about animal-assisted therapy for yourself or loved one, please contact our office at (716) 217-0087.
References
Fine, A. H., & Beck, A. M. (2019). Understanding Our Kinship with Animals: Input for Health Care Professionals Interested in the Human-Animal Bond. In The Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy: Foundations and Guidelines for Animal-Assisted Interventions (5th ed., pp. 3–12). essay, American Press.
Fung A, Mok P, Fung WK (2024) The Rich History and Evolution of Animal-Assisted Therapy. J Altern Complement Integr Med 10: 443.
Mills, D., Rogers, J., Kerulo, G., Bremhorst, A., & Hall, S. (2019). Getting the Right Dog for the Right Job for Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI): Essential Understanding of Dog Behavior and Ethology for Those Working Within AAI. In The Handbook of Animal-Assisted Therapy: Foundations and Guidelines for Animal-Assisted Interventions (5th ed., pp. 115–128). essay, Elsevier.
Serpell, J. A. (2019). Animal-Assisted Interventions in Historical Perspective. In The Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy: Foundations and Guidelines for Animal-Assisted Interventions (5th ed., pp. 13–22). essay, American Press.
