Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT, also referred to as Pet Therapy) is an up and coming new treatment method which has excited both psychologists and doctors around the world. To give a definition, it is the guided interaction between a person and a trained animal through a formal, structured set of sessions. This is similar to Animal-Assisted Activites (AAA) which is more casual and is more used for comfort or recreation. AAT uses therapy dogs, also known as ‘comfort dogs’ which support people by providing attention and comfort. However, these must not be confused with service dogs (eg. Guide dogs for the blind) which receive rigorous, high-end training and have the right to be in restricted public areas which therapy dogs do not. Therapy dogs are usually used either in targeted therapy sessions, or are introduced into families with individuals that require them. Therapy pets are already a common notion for many people that have struggles with anxiety and panic attacks, but many new pieces of evidence display that the effects of animals are far more broad.

Despite the confusion around the definition, the benefits of AAT are very clear, from both a physical and psychological health perspective. Burrows et al. found that children with Asperger’s syndrome had improved motor function, calmness and compliance with the parents’ directive when a therapy dog was placed within the family. This is supported by another study by Viau et al. They also placed a therapy dog in families of children with Asperger’s, and discovered the number of problematic behaviours decreased, while the cortisol awakening response considerably reduced. Psychologists theorised that this is because many individuals with autism feel a deep bond connecting them to animals, and are able to relate better to them than humans, reducing many of their common symptoms. A study conducted by UCLA discovered autistic children engaged in a significantly greater use of language and social interaction within their therapy sessions when they had animals in them, again solidifying the early research.

Not only do individuals with autism benefit from therapy dogs, but there is also evidence highlighting positive effects on depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, PTSD and Alzheimer’s disease when a family receives a therapy animal. Having a dog in a therapy session draws attention to the animal which can decrease a stressful situation and instil a feeling of acceptance or fulfilment. This is extremely beneficial for a session as it not only puts the patient at ease but also means the time spent can be more constructive and the participants can achieve more.

Psychologists also found recipients of the dogs had reduced anxiety and aggression. This is because petting an animal has been proven to cause the brain to release chemicals called endorphins. This includes the hormone Phenylethylamine, which has the same effect as chocolate on the human body (for example, lower blood pressure and reduced risk of heart disease), and the mood-boosting hormone oxytocin. These endorphins produce a calming effect which can help alleviate pain, reduce stress and improve the overall psychological state. A study was conducted in Dallas in 2015 to determine the physical benefits of AAT. 76 hospitalised heart failure patients were divided into 3 groups, one receiving a visit from a dog, one only a human volunteer and one with no visitors. The dogs would visit for 12 minutes and lie on a patient’s bed while interacting with them. The researchers discovered the anxiety scores from a test administered before and after decreased by 24% for the participants that had the dog, compared to only 10% from the human volunteer group. Both artery pressure and the measure of pressure in the lungs in the dog group dropped by 5% before and after therapy, which is a clear display of the immediate calming benefits of therapy dogs, as the artery and lung pressure rose in the two other groups. This was a valuable piece of evidence for the continuation of AAT research, as it displayed that even short-term exposure to therapy dogs has beneficial physiological and psychosocial effects on patients. Further research also showed that patients that are recovering from difficult surgery, like the participants from the Dallas study, may feel less pain from participating in AAT. This is not only really important to aid general physical recovery, but also may cause the amount of pain medications needed by the patient to decrease, reducing the volume of artificial substances going into the body, and also reducing the chance of the patient developing an addiction.

However, as with any healthcare practice, there are risks and limitations, the biggest one being safety and sanitation. Both human and animal injury can occur when animals are handled inappropriately, meaning that both animal and handler must undergo lots of training and evaluation to ensure a positive and safe experience happens. There is also the issue that patients may have allergic reactions to the pets, or the animal may bring in infection and bacteria to patients recovering from difficult surgery. Lastly, individuals may become possessive or reliant of the animals helping them, and may find it hard to leave them, resulting in high anxiety when separated.

Despite these limitations, AAT is still an extremely valuable method that may become a main treatment plan for many mental health illnesses. People have debated the idea of dogs being ‘put on prescription’, as it could be an effective, drug-free way to treat mental health issues. Multiple charities have been set up, focusing on pet therapy, such as PAT (Pets as Therapy) which strives to allow everyone the oppurtunity to experience the companionship of an animal. There is also PeTS (Pet Therapy Society of Northern Alberta) that offers free pet therapy services around Alberta, Canada.

Therapy dogs have been taken into many different places, such as schools, nursing homes, hospitals and even prisons. In one prison, an inmate who used to continously harm himself wasn’t involved in any violent incidents for 18 months after PAT dogs were introduced. The prison officers and guards also experienced decreased stress levels and improved prisoner-staff relationships to such an extent that the therapy dog scheme extended to all other prisons under the G4S company control. For schools, studies at Lincoln University revealed that when children read out loud to a dog, it can improve their language comprehension and self-esteem, which creates a positive association with reading. They also found that children with special educational needs had a reduced production of cortisol when spending time with a therapy animal.

So, what is the future of AAT and therapy dogs? Currently, it is hard to determine the real effects of AAT, due to the ethical issues of depriving someone of evidence-backed mental health treatment to test a simple theory. The cost of animal assisted therapy is also large, and ranges from £6,000 to £7,500. However, some may argue that this cost is justified because a therapy dog can work in a variety of settings with many different populations. As mentioned earlier, there are many different charities and new research coming into place, with new evidence revealing the true benefits of AAT coming into play. All in all, this lays an exciting path for the progression of therapy animals and mental health treatments as a whole.

But what do you think? Should research into AAT be continued and made a mainstream health practice, or should doctors stick with the more conventional, drug and medicine based treatment?

Voice your opinion in the comments…

– Molly Light