Animal Assisted Therapy in Hospitals and Institutions

1093 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on animal therapy

Animal Assisted Therapy in Hospitals and Institutions

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a means of therapy that is intended to help the patient's recovery advance, the patients can express themselves with and through the pet. Patients are allowed to pet, groom and walk, ride or swim with the animal giving them a chance to nurture and find companionship with the pet. Some of the goals are to improve a patient's social, emotional and/or cognitive functioning. The therapists seeks to achieve a better rapport with the patient channeled through the use of the animal that is assisting in the therapy. Due to concerns from institutions, health professionals have concerns about animal's hair, dirt and germs, but procedures of cleanliness have been developed that would permit pet-therapy programs at most hospitals and nursing homes.

In an article in The Doctor's New Assistant, it is stated that the animals in the pet-therapy program must adhere to strict rules, they have to abide by the rules established in their states through the State Department of Health and the Veterinarians Association. The animals have to be immunized, cannot get on a patients bed and can not go into the facilities kitchen. (2014) While there remains concerns that the animal may bite a patient or become aggressive, an additional precaution is put into place requiring the animals go through obedience training.

Canine therapy is the most common of all AAT programs and the one with the easiest access to the general population. A UCLA study done on patients with heart failure worked with 76 patients. When the patients were visited by a therapy dog showed they showed a 10% decrease in heart and lung pressure, 24% lowering of anxiety levels and a 17% had lowe...

... middle of paper ...

...he use of AAT being used in hospitals and institutions by reducing the pain and suffering of their patients, notably decreasing their medications and increasing their quality of life. While research continues in this field staff and patients continue to be educated in the use of AAT for the betterment of everyone.

Works in progress citation page

(1)Animal Assisted Therapy http://www.americanhumane.org/interaction/programs/animal-assisted-therapy/ American Humane Association

(2) The Doctor's New Assistant Says 'arf ' Opposing Viewpoints

(3) Cole, K., Gawlinski, A., Steers, N., & Kotlerman, j. (2007). Animal assisted therapy in patients hospitalized with heart failure. American Journal of Critical Care, 16, 575-585

(4) Patterson, D., & Jensen, M. (2003) Hypnosis and clinical pain. Psychological Bulletin 129,http://chp.sagepub.com/content/12/1/151 295-521

Show More
Related

  • Therapy Dog Research Paper

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    Individuals with PTSD have a hard time coping with their symptoms as well as trusting others ;therefore, therapy dogs are beneficial to help developing coping skills by taking the dog out for a walk extra sizing releases endorphins. Although some medical professionals don’t believe that therapy dogs help a survey done by people diagnosed wit PTSD reported that "82% of them

    Read More

  • Minute-to-Minute Urine Flow Rate Variability: A New Renal Physiology Variable

    2297 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Hebrew University Animal Care and Use Committee approved the protocol (MD-07-10924-2), and each study was supervised by a veterinary surgeon. Each trial was conducted following a week of acclimation under veterinary care.

    Read More

  • Informative Essay On Therapy Dogs

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    Patients appreciate a warm and loving distraction from their pain and worries, as well as the depression and boredom that can result from a long hospital stay. And you will find that family members are every bit as appreciative. Not only because you are comforting their loved ones, but because they are also going through difficult times and appreciate a break from it themselves. Waiting rooms provide another opportunity to serve. Relatives and friends of patients may be waiting for very long periods of time during surgeries, all the while worrying about the outcome. Hospitals have established policies for visiting animals, and may require that teams be registered with a national organization. Some allow teams to visit most any patient who is not in isolation, while others only allow doctor-approved visits. Hospitals require strict adherence to sanitary guidelines for you and your animal, including hand sanitizing before and after each visit with a patient. When animals are placed on a patient's bed, they are placed on a clean sheet or towel used just for your visit with that one patient. You must also be very careful not to disturb a patient's injury, or medical equipment such as IV

    Read More

  • The Use of Hypnosis in Pain Management and Related Areas

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    King, B., Nash, M., Spiegel, D., & Jobson, K. (2001). Hypnosis as an intervention in pain management. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 5(2), 97-101.

    Read More

  • Being a Veterinarian Technician

    1349 Words  | 3 Pages

    Norkus, Christopher L. Veterinary Technician’s Manual for Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care. Chichester, West Sussex. UK: Ames. Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.

    Read More

  • HYPNOSIS

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hypnosis can play a useful role in medicine, dentistry and psychotherapy. Thus, it can be used to suppress the pain of the childbirth or of having one’s teeth drilled. It is also useful in reducing the nausea caused by the drugs used in chemotherapy for cancer.

    Read More

  • The Effect of Dog Assisted Therapy on Elderly Patients with Dementia

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...an-use-pet-therapy-to-care-for-their-loved-one/ Cutt, Hayley, Billie Giles-Corti, Matthew Knuiman, Valerie Burke. “Dog Ownership, Health and PhysicalActivity:ACritical Review of the Literature.” Health & Place 13.1 (2007): 261-272.

    Read More

  • Being A Veterinarian Research Paper

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    When owners take their pets to the clinic, they are understandably anxious about the results and outcome of the visit. While it’s the veterinarian's job to provide care for the animal, it’s also their job to put the owners at ease, reassuring them that their pet will indeed be fine. This communication is vital for building trust, as it lets the owner know what is happening to their animal and gives them confidence in believing that everything will be okay. What’s more, veterinarians that take the time to thoroughly explain procedures and instructions regarding petcare, are teaching pet owners how to better tend to their

    Read More

  • Hypnosis, As A Therapeutic Approach

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    JOMT | Full text | The effects of a medical hypnotherapy on clothing industry employees suffering from chronic pain. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.occup-med.com/content/8/1/25

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy in a Mental Health Perspective

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Animal-Assisted Therapy." Animal Assisted Therapy, Exploring the Therapeutic Link between Animals and Humans. American Humane Association, 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .

    Read More

  • Pet Therapy

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the animals are being passed out, the patients begin smiling, laughing, and talking to the animals. They stroke their coats, play with them, and feed them snacks that they have saved for this occasion. While the patients are interacting with other students and staff, two of the students begin making notes on the activities that are taking place in the room. The patients, staff, and students are clearly enjoying themselves, but there are greater benefits to be found here. Research has been done in the area of human-animal companionship and security, and stress management.

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    Animal-assisted therapy is often confused with service dog; it is two completely different type of usage of animals, which usually are dogs. It is commonly misunderstood because animal-assisted therapy and service dog are working animals with individuals with disability although according to (Hart-Cohen, 2009) service dogs is when an individual with disability is in need of help in order to function in daily life such as answering the door, crossing the street and the list goes on. While animal-assisted therapy animals are trained to offer comfort companionship, and affection to those in need in different situations such as courtrooms, nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and other places (Hart-Cohen, 2009). The point of animal-assisted therapy is to be available in specific situations to offer comfort to individuals. In order to become an assisted animal, the animal must undergo training, to receive a certified to prove that the animal is qualified to be able to control his or her behavior and is able to work with an...

    Read More

  • Pseudoscience Paper: “Hypnosis”

    1944 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hypnosis has been used for a wide range of problems from, opting to remove some symptoms of certain mental diseases, reducing stress and psychological traumas, and treating phobias, to aiming to cause weight loss and cure one from illness and diseases (Keller, 2008). Although hypnosis in general, is considered to be safe and totally harmless when controlled by a physician, the present era has attached danger to it, in that it creates delusions through other people’s lives. According to MacKenzie (2011), “Hypnosis has been perceived as clouding people’s imaginations while they undergo relaxation, both internally and externally. While under hypnosis we experience a heightened sense of imagination and are open to suggestions and changes.” Coker (2010) found Pseudoscience to encourage people to believe anything they want. “It supplies specious "arguments" for fooling yourself into thinking that any and all beliefs are equally valid...

    Read More

  • Who Let the Dogs Out? My Path to a Career as a Veterinarian

    1604 Words  | 4 Pages

    Veterinarians are medical professionals whose goals are to improve the health and welfare of animals, protect public health and food safety, and better enhance environmental health. The specific work of veterinarians depends on their special interests. The majority of veterinarians work in private clinical practice, about seventy-four percent to be exact. The general public often sees these veterinarians. Even though most private practice veterinarians treat a variety of animals, about sixty percent only work on small animals, such as dogs and cats, as well as birds, reptiles, rabbits, and other animals that are kept as pets. Only about one-fourth of veterinarians work in mixed animal practices, where they see non-domestic animals such as sheep, pigs, and goats, while also seeing companion animals. Only ten percent of private clinical practice veterinarians work specifically with large animals, such as horses and cows. Veterinarians may also specialize in certain fields as physicians do. Surgery, internal medicine, anesthe...

    Read More

  • The Many Benefits of Pet Ownership

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    Owning a pet can have many physical and mental health benefits. Medical studies show having a pet result's in lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. Pets have a role in cardiovascular health from lowering blood pressure, and they encourage psychosocial stability in owners, which further reduces the risk of heart disease. In the hectic and fast-paced world we live in today, pets are actually saving our lives. Pets provide an excuse to be active, dogs live an active lifestyle, wanting to play and run around outside. By making us more active and improving our health, dogs often provide a good workout! Instead of sitting on the couch being lazy, dogs are eager to transfer their energy and enthusiasm to the owner benefiting both dog and owner in many ways. Studies show that dogs demonstrate trust and provide comfort to the sick or elderly thus helping people to live longer and to be more positive as they age. Animal owners over 75 years of age have f...

    Read More

More about Animal Assisted Therapy in Hospitals and Institutions

Open Document