1. Studies have shown that the children who grow up in homes with animals have a better ability to show empathy later and as adults. Pets are easy to communicate with, and their body language is much simpler than a human’s. This simple body language allows children to learn to empathize with them, a skill they can carry with them as they go through life (Holistic Online, 2007).
Every person needs physical touch, no matter what. We are made to thrive off of it. There are some people that for whatever reason are not comfortable with the physical touch of another human. Many of these people are those that have been either physically or sexually abused. The use of pet therapy allows them to have an experience touch in a very non-threatening way, making a world of a difference through appropriate physical contact. For those in a hospital, every time they are touched it is painful. Pet therapy can be one of the few methods of touch that is pain free and pleasant (Holistic Online, 2007).
The presence of animals allows many people to relax. Studies and tests have shown the decrease in heart rate and blood pressure to be dramatic around animals. Something as simple as watching fish has even shown have relaxing effects. In any type of healthcare, one of the most important aspects is the therapeutic relationship with the patients or clients. Sometimes this relationship may be challenging to build. Animals can be used to open a channel of emotionally safe and non-threatening communication in the relationship. The simple presence of an animal may open a path through their resistance and allow the professional to come inside. The presence of animals is extremely effective with children. They are much more likely to project t...
... middle of paper ...
... that improves their self-esteem. It allows them to break down the tough image that they feel they have to keep up in front of the other inmates, and allows them to show their more compassionate side. These penitentiaries have found fewer disciplinary problems with their inmates than the prisons that do not use pets (Abrahms, 2007).
Works Cited
Abrahms, Sally. 1998-2007. The Power of Pets. Retrieved November 12, 2013 from http://www.holisticonline.com/pets/pet-therapy-bjs.htm
Oakley, Dawn. & Bardin, Gail. The Potential Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy For Children With Special Needs. Retrieved from http://www.kidneeds.com/diagnostic_categories/articles/animalassistedtherapy.htm
The Benefits We Experience When Pets (Animals) Are Beside Us. 1998-2007. Retrieved November 12, 2013 from http://www.holisticonline.com/pets/pets_pet-therapy-benefits-of-pets.htm
In the article “Therapy Dogs Work Miracles. But Do They Like There Job?” by Linda Lombardi. Linda shows that when sevices dog are not stressed out when they are working. Linda worked with many scientist and sciences clients. She worked with “Applied Animal Behaviour Sciences”, the Animal Behaviour did some reacher and found that dogs are not stressed out when they are working. They scientists state this “therapy dogs in pediatric cancer wards are not stressed by their work”(Lombardi). The scientist along with Linda show that dogs are not stressed out when they are working with kids. Dogs are probably not stressed when working with kids because they are active and are up and around with children. In the end of the article Linda states that
"Animal-Assisted Therapy." Animal Assisted Therapy, Exploring the Therapeutic Link between Animals and Humans. American Humane Association, 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .
The first point, of how bringing animals into prisons is helpful, is that it actually has many benefits for the animals, inmates, and the community. The animals get a second chance at life by being sent to prisons for recovery or training. The animals also help the prisoners learn responsibility and how to care for something. Prison faculty say inmates’ attitudes undergo
Pet therapy could also make nursing care in general feel more like a type of home type care, versus a hospitalization if their pet or pet therapy animal is able to visit and interact with them during their stay. Due to pets depending on their owners for survival, this gives an owner a sense of worth and responsibility for another living being, especially for those adults who are widowed, divorced or single. This paper explores the benefits of animal assisted therapy, which is supported through the direct visualizations that were made on visits made at different assisted skilled facilities (SNF), assisted living facilities (ALF) and long-term care facilities. This study was done to compare show the positive effect of animal and human interaction on social behaviors and well-being among older adults in healthcare facilities. Animal visits were done once to twice a week, which consisted of pet and human interaction involving conversations, and residents were encouraged to touch, pet, or interact with the therapy animal. This survey proved increased
Gereal P. Mallon (1994) states there are numerous reports in literature that exemplify the value of human contact with animals. Studies have indicated animals such as dogs play an important role in not only socializing, but a significantly greater role in humanizing children. Dogs in particular due to their interactive and affectionate nature have become increasingly effective in adjunct therapy settings of children and youth. Piaget (1929) revealed in his research a stage in child development that it is inherently natural for a child to attribute human characteristics to an animal. Cartoons, fairytales, and mythology designed for children often depict animals as important roles of human interaction. Children are even found to project their inner feelings onto an animal, which they perceive as loving. These animals too do not talk back or argue which provides the continuous degree of nonjudgmental interaction essential to a child’s recovery process.
Research has been done in the area of human-animal companionship and security, and stress management. Due to the relative newness of this field and the difficulties in studying it, most research has been concentrated on the elderly, specifically, institutionalized elderly. Pets have been introduced into these settings in order to minimize the negative consequences of institutionalization. Most research has been conducted on the extreme ends of the continuum, either very brief visitation or therapy of resident pets studies (Wrinkler 216).
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.
Due to pets having such a positive impact on overall health of people, animal assisted therapy (AAT) has been a growing field. Currently, Mayo Clinic has 28 certified therapy animals, on a volunteer basis, with the demand for AAT visits from physicians and patients increasing. To help grow the animal assisted therapy program, recruit more volunteers, and serve the patient’s needs first; we need to make the AAT program more well-known in the community. By expanding the AAT program and making it more robust, Mayo Clinic has the potential to set the standards for a quality AAT program in a hospital setting, but to also help patients have a more positive experience and a shorter stay while in the hospital.
Dolphin assisted therapy (DAT) is a highly controversial topic in the medical world. Is it medicine or simply recreation? Whatever you might believe, you cannot deny the fact that dolphins are loving and nurturing mammals with the ability to show compassion. Along with that ability for compassion, some may claim that there is actual science, which proves that interactions with dolphins have helped to treat many patients. Most of the patients in dolphin assisted therapy are children with autism, Down's syndrome, depression, and other neurological and movement disorders. (http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9803/28/dolphin.therapy/index.html)
The use of therapeutic dogs in nursing homes and other care or incarceration facilities is necessary in today’s world of young people, geriatric patients, and the mentally ill who exhibit various behavior and emotional problems. Dogs bring emotional support and open avenues of expression for segments of society that find it difficult to experience that support or to express otherwise.
For example, it has been proven that therapy dogs stimulate memory and problem solving skills in a classroom environment. Also, interaction with a therapy dog has been shown to reduce blood pressure. In hospitals, therapy dogs can comfort someone during a surgery, recovery, or if they are just experiencing pain. A study showed that hospital patients with a therapy dog had less pain and recovered quicker and better. Therapy dogs have also been proven to promote self esteem. About ten percent of teens have an anxiety disorder. Therapy dogs can help these students by creating laughter to lift moods. (The Benefits of Therapy Dogs in Classrooms and on College
Correa, Julio E., Davis, Marquinta F., Ruffin, Wilma J., Ebert, Robert A. Floyd, James G. “Dog Companionship and Its Benefits to Humans” Alabama Cooperative Extention System(ACES) Nov 1999. Web 21 Dec.13
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions...
"Why Have Pets - Health Benefits of Owning a Pet." Shil1978 on HubPages. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
Many people in the world today suffer with problems such as anxiety and depression. As a way to treat these problems, those people should use animal-assisted therapy. Animal-assisted therapy (also known as pet therapy) is used in many hospitals and is growing more every day.