Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)

What is it about the presence of a dog or the touch of its soft fur that allows people to feel at ease and comfortable enough to release their emotions? Animals, the vast majority being canines due to being domesticated and easily accessed and trained, have been used in hospitals, schools, prisons, and other settings for years in order to bring about a therapeutic change (Megan A. Souter & Michelle D. Miller, 2007). Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a type of therapy that uses trained animal interaction as a form of treatment to ameliorate an individuals physical, emotional, and social well-being. Interacting with an animal-whether playing with it, caring for it, or simply petting it- is believed to have many positive effects on a person.
Paul Cherniack & Ariella R. Cherniack, 2014). Animal-assisted therapy can be used with people of all ages. There are a few concerns with having dogs in schools and other establishments. These concerns are considered disadvantages of using animals for therapy purposes. Some of these issues include; hygiene, animal and child safe, fear of animals and allergies. Therefore, is AAT effective?

There are many benefits of using animals for therapy. For instance, studies have shown that using AAT can cause a depressed patient's brain to release chemicals called endorphins (Ridha Ramdani Rahmah, Nikki Sabastian & Dionisius Alby, 2013). These chemicals are to counteract the body's response to pain by generating a sense of pleasure or well-being. AAT draws attention to the animal and away from problems as well as supporting empathy and nurturing skills in the patient and inculcate a sense of feeling of acceptance and accomplishment (Megan A. Souter & Michelle D. Miller,
Some children and even some adults have a fear of animals. The best way to deal with this issue is to not force the matter and instead gradually allow the child with the fear to experience the animal. This will possibly generate an understanding that not all animals, especially dogs, are mean and vicious. It is important to know of a child's previous experience with animals in order to decide whether or not it is appropriate to use AAT. If a child has an animal phobia, one way to reduce this fear is by having the child watch his/her peers positively interacting with the therapy animal. Another factor is when bringing an animal into, for example, a school, children and adults could have allergies. To alleviate allergy issues is to do demonstrations with the animal either outside or in large rooms. However, this would take away from the one-on-one personal interaction. A serious concern when allowing animals into a public building for the use of therapy purposes is the safety of the people. Concern is also expressed for the animal safety. The worries of the animal biting or scratching a child or adult is a huge disadvantage for using animals for therapy purposes. Since the animal are put through an obedience course and other training procedures, acts of hostility are rare. These matters can be decreased and even alleviated if the animal and its handler are