What is animal-assisted therapy?
The bond between humans and animals is special beyond words. Animals tend to enrich our lives, where a positive human-animal bond improves physical, social, and emotional health.
Animals invite us to tap into the present. If you’ve bonded with an animal, you likely have a good sense of the therapeutic effect animals can have on us.
In this blog, we’ll explore what psychotherapy looks like when we invite animals in as co-therapists.
Biophilia
The Biophilia Hypothesis suggests we have an innate interest in nature and animals. Biophilia implies not necessarily love for animals, but rather an innate interest in them.
Biophilia posits that we evolved to respond to animals as environmental sentinels of danger or safety, and consequently implies that friendly, calm animals are likely to have a calming effect on human mood, while agitated aggressive animals are likely to have the opposite effect.
Our interdependence with nature and animals is of deep importance to me, and I believe exploring our connection to nature is an essential ingredient for social-emotional wellness. Since early in my career, I have been dreaming about the opportunity to engage in animal therapy – I even found an old journal where I had written the affirmation that “one day I will do therapy outside with animals.”
Animal-assisted therapy
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) involves inviting animals into the therapy room as co-therapists. Or, meeting animals in their own environment, like a field or stable. AAT is facilitated by a licensed therapist who is trained to guide interactions between the client and animal(s).
Animals rights and freedoms
There are certain freedoms of the animal that are protected always, without question. The “five freedoms” of the animal are freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain; freedom from fear; and freedom to express their natural behavior.
There is no “use” of an animal in AAT. Again, they are our sentient co-therapists. Similar to licensed mental health therapists, AAT animals are trained to provide emotional support and comfort in various settings.
Still, if the therapy animal feels overwhelmed, they may want to leave the therapy room. Rather than being concerned with the animal's obedience, we observe their natural behavior and ask “what must the animal be feeling right now?” In that situation, we attend to their needs and let them out of the room.
AAT often models healthy boundaries. Clients may notice the therapist takes excellent care of the animal, making sure they’re well-groomed, fed, and hydrated. Clients of AAT will be informed during intake that the therapy animal may not always be available. The animals aren’t always ready to participate, and breaks and rest will always be prioritized. Importantly, this may highlight the importance of taking good care of ourselves.
Building bridges toward healing
In building trust with the animal, we recognize they freely choose and want to attune to us. Sometimes, therapists encounter clients who put up strong defenses against their own desire for love and attention. AAT offers a non-threatening means to circumvent this defense mechanism and enlist the aid of the dependency needs of the animals themselves.
Animals are similar enough to us and yet different enough for us to perceive them as safer, trusting and calming. In our loving connections with animals, we form a safe encounter. The client builds trust with the animal, which often bridges trust toward the therapist.
Benefits of AAT
Some social-emotional benefits of AAT include its capacity to:
develop empathy and nurturing skills (particularly for children)
strengthen rapport and trust between therapist and client
build one's sense of independence; self-esteem; purpose; and safety awareness
strengthen confidence; decision-making skills; and social relationships
as well as decrease anxiety symptoms
A notable explanation for the therapeutic benefits of animal companionship can be understood through a singular, ground-breaking study of 92 outpatients from a cardiac care unit who were found to live longer if they were pet owners. This finding prompted further health-related studies. For example, one study suggests animals are able to induce an immediate, physiologically de-arousing state of relaxation simply by attracting and holding our attention.
Several studies have demonstrated an association between bonding with pets and a reduced risk of heart-related health issues. Specifically, having a dog has been associated with lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases; and having a cat has been associated with lower risk of death due to a cardiovascular disease, such as stroke or heart attack. In a study of individuals with one or more cardiac risk factors, having a pet was associated with greater adaptability to disturbances in the cardiovascular system.
More information can be found through the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI)
What is a therapy animal?
A therapy animal is specifically trained to comfort and support individuals in need. In most cases, therapy animals require registration. There are certain organizations like “Pet Partners” that register therapy animals. Pet Partners is a non-profit organization that showcases the health and wellness benefits of animal-assisted therapy, activities and education. Pet Partners register nine different species of animals, including dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, birds, and llamas/alpacas.
Therapy animals and their handlers are a team, and this team is assessed by an organization like Pet Partners to ensure their suitability as a team. Therapy animals are involved in animal-assisted therapy.
A therapy animal can sometimes be confused for animals with different roles, such as service animals or emotional support animals (ESA). According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability (service animals are often dogs, and sometimes mini horses)
Emotional support animals and therapy animals are not service animals. For an animal to be considered an emotional support animal, a licensed mental health professional must write a letter indicating that the animal helps reduce distress related to their caretaker’s mental health diagnosis. Also, emotional support animals may include a variety of animals, from dogs and cats to snakes and chickens.
The origins of animal-assisted therapy
According to Sigmund Freud, infants and young children are essentially similar to animals insofar as they are ruled by impulses organized around basic biological functions. Freud referred to this animalistic aspect of human nature as the “Id.”
Freud argued that as children grow, their adult caregivers “tame” or socialize them by instilling fear or shame if/when the child acts too impulsively. In turn, children respond to this external pressure to conform by repressing urges from consciousness. Freud maintained that mental health issues result when these bottled-up drives find no adaptive nor creative outlet in later life.
Boris Levinson was an American psychologist and the founder of animal-assisted therapy. He theorized that by establishing positive relationships with animals, we restore a healing connection with our own, unconscious animal natures.
Levinson argued pets represent a “half-way station on the road back to emotional well-being” and “we need animals as allies to reinforce our inner selves.” Levinson went beyond the Freudian idea that animals were essentially a symbolic disguise for things we are afraid to confront in the flesh, to propose that relations with animals play such a prominent role in human evolution that they have now become integral to our psychological well-being.
In 1792, a former English mental health facility called The York Retreat first gave animals to residents to act as caretakers. The residents made therapeutic progress which was credited to having creatures that were dependent on them.
Present day, animals are increasingly seen in prisons to support inmates, reduce stress, and improve communication. Animal-assisted therapy programs for incarcerated individuals socialize, raise self-esteem, and offer a sense of responsibility.
The reciprocity of the human-animal bond
The way we connect with animals is therapeutic, beyond words. They touch our mind, body and soul. Animals bond with us in a way where they don’t have to convince us they like us, we sense their love. Although my animals have never told me so in my language, I believe they know I love them. Through our bonds, we all share in the joy of the love we’ve brought to life.
