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Animal-assisted activity and therapy

A.  What is AAA or AAT?

The use of animal-assisted therapy has grown tremendously in recent times, particularly in the United States, where there are more than 2,000 programmes.  Although interest in this field is lively in the UK, there are fewer animal-assisted therapy programmes and networking and training opportunities for people undertaking these activities. 

Terminology

Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) – a broad term that includes what is traditionally known as "animal-assisted therapy" or "animal-assisted activities".

Animal-assisted activities (AAA) – these are “meet and greet” activities that involve pets and people.  The same activity can be repeated with a number of people, as it is not particularly designed to meet an individual’s specific needs.  The activity is not goal-centred and there is no assessment or official recording of observable outcomes.  AAA is practised to a wide extent in the UK.  Examples in the UK include visits from Pets as Therapy dogs or cats and their handlers, who visit schools hospitals, hospices, young offenders’ institutions and residential homes, free of charge. 

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) – sometimes referred to as pet-facilitated therapy  - is a goal-directed intervention integrated into a treatment programme.   An animal that meets certain criteria is specifically chosen to be part of the treatment programme for an individual with physical, psychological or social needs.  A tailored programme is usually directed and/or delivered by a healthcare professional, such as a social worker or an occupational therapist and is based upon meeting the client’s specific goals.  The intervention is documented and evaluated.   An example of AAT is the promotion of hand-eye co-ordination in stroke patients by encouraging them to undertake specific training exercises with a therapy dog. 

Examples of AAT in the UK include the treatment of childhood dog phobia by psychologists working in conjunction with the organisationsPets as Therapy  and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, as offered by Annie and David Tidmarsh at their Winds of Change programme in Scotland. 

Animal-assisted education (AAE) - a specialized application of AAA or AAT directed at students and classroom interactions.  An example of this is the activity of reading to an animal, which creates fluency and also helps with character development.  An example of this is the R.E.A.D.education dogs programme.

All animals involved in therapeutic work (AAA or AAT) should be healthy and temperament-checked for their suitability to undertake such work. 

B. History of AAT and AAA

The therapeutic potential and spiritual qualities of companion animals have long been recognised, from the Ancient Egyptians who worshipped cats, even mummifying them and burying them in sacred vaults along the River Nile, to the Ancient Greeks who kept healing dogs in their temples. 

Florence Nightingale was one of the first people to advocate the benefits of companion animals for the chronically sick.  Animal-assisted therapy really began in the UK in the late 1700’s, although it wasn’t really recognised as such at the time.  The York Retreat, an institution for people with mental health problems, was managed by a Quaker, William Tuke, whose ideas were very forward thinking for the time.  He described how having to care for companion animals gave his patients a sense of purpose and an opportunity to nurture.  Many of the early psychiatric institutions in the UK were associated with resident companion animals, birds, gardens and small farms but by the turn of the 20^th Century many of these had been abandoned.  This occurred for several reasons, including a belief that such programmes weren’t cost-effective and a fear of exploitation of the patients as ‘cheap labour’ by asking them to care for the animals.  The advent of scientific medicine at the start of the 20^th century and concerns about disease transmission also brought a halt to such programmes. 

American child psychologist Boris Levinson is the first person to be credited with the formal use of animals in AAT within a clinical field in 1962.  Levinson discovered that he could make significant progress during the treatment of a disturbed child when his dog Jingles was also present during the sessions. 

C.  Training in AAA/AAT

For anyone wanting to include their companion animals in AAA visits to nursing homes, children’s wards, hospices and other institutions and organisations, no formal training is required.  However, owners must ensure that their companion animal is suitable and healthy.  Pets should be temperament-tested and have up-to-date vaccinations.    If you are based in the UK, it may be helpful to register your pet with one of the two main UK AAA/AAT organisations, Pets as Therapy or Therapet. If you are based in the United States, please contact the Delta Society. 

As far as we are aware, there are very limited opportunities for formal training in animal-assisted therapy in the UK.   Health and social care professionals usually develop their own set of practices to suit their particular working environment.  It is important, however, that clear guidelines and policies – particularly around health and safety – be developed and adhered to by all staff and volunteers in the organisation.

Please see the Recommended reading list and Useful links for further information on developing guidelines and training courses available internationally.

Training courses available for UK residents

New training course in the UK!

SCAS has developed a new training course in animal-assisted therapy: Companion animals interventions in therapeutic pracitice.

This course provides an exciting opportunity to learn more about animal-assisted therapy and how to include companion animals in therapeutic practice. It is one of very few courses available on this subject.

This seven day course will be held in Banbury, Oxfordshire on 8-11 August and 3-6 October. Places are limited so early booking is recommended. Closing date for applications is 14 July 2008. For further information and to download an application form, click AAT training course

Introduction to animal-assisted therapy and activities – online, distance learning course

This is a ten-week online, distance-learning course offered through Harcum College and taught by internationally renowned human-animal bond and AAT author Phil Arkow.  It is available to anyone interested in learning more about how to undertake AAA/T – based in the UK or anywhere in the world.    Intake dates for 2007 are 22 January, 23 April and 10 September.  The course costs 850 dollars.  Click here for further information. 

http://www.animaltherapy.net/harcum.html

Animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy - correspondence course

This course is offered by the BSY group based in the UK, available to anyone in the UK or outside the UK.   The cost of the course is £335.  Click here for further information. 

http://www.bsygroup.co.uk/course_details.asp?course_id=91

Equine-assisted psychotherapy

Equines are increasingly utilised in models of therapies for at-risk populations. 

Visit the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) website for information on training courses and programmes throughout the UK. 

D. Research in AAA/AAT

It can be quite difficult to find research papers on AAA and AAT.  AAA and AAT can be used as keywords in an internet or library search, but it may be helpful to search more indirectly to locate research papers.  The following list of keywords may be useful in your search:

Animal-assisted activities

• Animal-assisted therapy
• Human-animal bond
• Human-animal interactions
• Animal interventions
• Pet-facilitated therapy
• Working dogs
• Animal therapy
• Pet therapy
• Service dogs
• Visiting pets

You may find that there is quite a lot of articles on case studies or anecdotes that appear in newspapers, magazines and news sections of websites.   These are useful in that they give ideas for research proposals.  However, if you’re conducting research or your own, or a literature review as part of your research, you will need to access original published articles, such as those that appear in Journals. 

Try searches on the following databases.  Access to the databases is free, although you may only be able to access the abstracts of some of the individual research papers.  In some cases, you may be able to download the entire journal paper.  

BIOMED                     www.biomedcentral.com

Science Direct             www.sciencedirect.com

SCIRUS                      www.scirus.com 

See Recommended reading and useful links for further information.