Animal Assisted Therapy Animals When

Animal Assisted Therapy

Therapy Animals

When a patient is in a hospital room full of high tech equipment with tubes, wires, bleeping monitors, alarms, and life-support equipment, it can be very depressing. An animal can bring warmth to the atmosphere and relate to the patient as a human being. A nice, calm dog that loves people unconditionally can really cheer a patient up and relieve the sense of dehumanization that comes when nurses and technicians look at the computer read-out instead the patient. But there's more to it than that. Animals are now being used to actively assist therapy. Using dogs in a pet therapy program helps the mental and physical healing of human beings. Using dogs in hospitals began as a recreational activity but has become an important part of patient care today. In this essay we will look at how dogs are used to improve mental and physical well being, how the dogs are trained and maintained, and the rare but possible hazards that could be involved when an animal is brought into a hospital. It will be shown that benefits of therapy animals far outweigh the risks.

Using dogs for police work, watch dogs, Seeing Eye dogs, pets and companions has long been accepted, but only recently have dogs been seen by the healthcare community as able to help the sick, injured, and handicapped (Parshall, 2003). The Delta Society, an organization that studies the bond between humans and animals, defines animal assisted therapy (AAT) as "the use of trained animals in facilitating patients' progress toward therapeutic goals" (Draper cited in Parhsall, 2003). AAT is "a scheduled intervention designed to improve a patient's cognitive or physical function, with specific short- and long-term goals" (Cenner, 2001, p. 44). Therapy dogs are already employed in a variety of settings -- hospitals, classrooms, rehabilitation centers, psychiatric units, prisons, and nursing homes to "lift the spirits" of all who meet them.

Dogs comfort and help dying people to feel "acceptance and decreased isolation" (p. 51). They offer comfort to grieving relatives as well. But before 1990 little scientific research existed on the value of animals for therapy.

History of AAT

The term pet therapy came into use in the 1960s along with keeping records of its use. Documentation started as anecdotal (stories). Then, it grew into scientific research findings. Institutional use of animals grew from using animals occasionally to using them deliberately as part of the therapy. But the use of animals in treatment is not completely new. In 1792, the Society of Friends used animals in a program for mentally ill people. Florence Nightengale said in her Notes on Nursing, "A pet bird in a cage is sometimes the only pleasure of an invalid confined for years to the same room" (cited in Hooker, Freeman, & Steward, 2002).

In 1919 dogs were used to help psychiatric patients at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C.

In 1942 the Veterans Administration set up a farm with animals as a "diversion for recovering veterans." But no data was collected to document the benefits of these programs. The health care field started to make animals part of established therapies in 1961. Dr. Boris Levinson found that "pets function as transitional objects with which patients can bond. This bonding could eventually expand to include a therapist" (Hooker, et all, 2002). More recently, Dr. William Thomas tried to create more livable, homelike places for humans to get well in. He brought in the natural world -- including animals -- for patients in long-term care.

Dr. Boris Levison was the pioneer of research on therapy dogs. He wrote about using dogs to work with children in psychiatric care. He found that a dog was something positive to begin communicating about, softened the child's defenses, and helped rapport to build. When Dr. Levinson first presented his findings to the American Psychological Association, some of the audience made fun of him ("Does your dog share the fees?").

Since then, nurses have used animals and written about it in their journals. They have found animals promote better patient outcomes. In other words, patients get better faster when an animal is there. Older patients feel needed again and not so useless. Seriously sick patients, families, and personnel report stress levels are lower when an animal is present (Hooker et al., 2002). Cenner (2000) reports the use of dogs in acute care. When a dog is there, patients don't need as much pain medicine. Therapy animals can help comatose patients wake up. The researcher points out that in the past nurses brought animals to the window for a patient to see -- or sneaked them in for a visit. Now, animals are often allowed. They should be allowed in all healthcare facilities.

By the 1990s research on animals in healthcare settings had grown. Nurses wrote about animals in a variety of healthcare settings. One study showed that older patients showed lower blood pressure and heart rates after the nurse brought a dog to visit. Another study used dogs in home visits with children. During painful procedures, the dog was a friend to the child and its parents and made the visit enjoyable.

Animals and Mental Well Being

Pets encourage psychological health in humans. They give comfort and help to soothe distress. They can be used to treat psychological and behavioral disorders. Pets can be companions and lessen the pain of loneliness for those who lack family support. People who own pets have been found to suffer less from depression, enjoy life more, are "generally more satisfied with their lives, and experience more happiness" (Gunter & Furnham, 1999, p. 77).

A report of 230 hospitalized patients, some treated with dogs and others without, appeared in Psychiatric Services journal. Dog-assisted treatment reduced anxiety significantly in depressed and demented patients and cut the anxiety level of psychotics in half. Dogs have a "de-arousing effect" on agitated patients. Dogs also provide social support for psychiatric patients. The social support of a dog helps patients develop normal ways of coping. For patients with psychotic disorders, Assisted Animal Therapy has been shown to be better than recreation (Parshall, 2003).

Judith Siegel described a program for using dogs in the treatment of severely withdrawn schizophrenics. Therapists are also using dogs to work with severely withdrawn children. Dogs act as "social lubricants." They facilitate interaction between patients and therapists. For emotionally disturbed and retarded clients, animals can reduce bad behaviors. They help to minimize the effects of emotional injuries and can comfort a child whose parent has died (Gunter & Furnham, 1999).

Dogs and cats can work in treatment centers for children with special needs. Dr. Gladys Blue listed several areas of benefit including "love, attachment and comfort; sensory-motor and nonverbal learning; responsibility, nurturance, competence, learning about life, death, and grief; benefits to physical health; nurturing humaneness, ecological awareness, and ethical responsibility" (cited in Pitts, 2005, p. 38). Animal therapy has resulted in significant improvements for children with "pervasive developmental disorders" (PDDs). Animal therapy is especially good for children that cannot speak. Pitts says it may be that AAT is beneficial to children with PDD because animals serve as transitional objects. "Children can establish primary bonds with the animals; these bonds can then be transferred to humans" (p. 38).

Obviously, a hospital stay is a major stress for children. Their lifestyle is totally changed. They may be separated form their parents and from the routine they are used to and surrounded by strangers. The University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital implemented "Pet Pals," a program to help children cope with being in the hospital. Therapy dogs were recruited to visit the children two days a week. A companion animal promotes social interactions and increases emotional comfort, decreases loneliness and homesickness, and boosts self-esteem and a sense of independence (Kaminski, Pellino & Wish, 2002). It would seem there is no end to the benefits of having a dog present when a person needs to get well.

Animals and Physical Well Being

Animals are being used to help people physically as well as mentally. For example, studies have shown that old and infirm people live longer if they have pets. Pets decrease loneliness and keep people busy caring for them. They like to be touched and pet, are something interesting to watch, make people feel safe, and provide motivation for exercise. Pet ownership has both direct and indirect physical effects on health (Gunter & Furnham, 1999).

One study showed that pet owners go to the doctor less frequently and have fewer health problems (Gunter & Furnham, 1999). Odendaal (2000) found that when people interacted with their dogs, their blood pressure and chemical plasma levels improved. In 1980 Barker & Dawson did a study of 92 cardiac outpatients. They found that pet owners lived longer than those who were not. The same researchers did a study of 5,741 people to find the effects of animals on heart health. Results showed that pet owners had "lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels than did non-pet owners" (cited in Parshall, 2003 and Gunter & Furnham, 1999, p. 69). Petting a dog lowered blood pressure and respiratory rate -- even if the dog was somebody else's. Pet owners that have heart surgery recover faster and stand a better chance of full recovery. Touching a warm furry animal gives them relief.

Moreover, pet ownership is a predictor of survival after hospitalization for any serious illness (Gunter & Furnham, 1999).

Demello (1999) found that the "mere presence of an animal" could lower blood pressure and that the effect persisted even after the animal was gone. Visual contact with an animal, although it helped, was not as good as touching. Heart rates decreased significantly in a three-minute period of physical contact with the animal (Demello, 1999).

A story in Time magazine (2001) tells how a brain-injured man needed help to get back his sense of balance. Ginger, an Australian shepherd, liked to fetch, so physical therapy for this man was to reach down, pet the dog with his weak arm, and then throw a ball for her to bring back. He said, "I can't turn my neck, and my eyesight isn't good. The dog gives me courage" (cited in Time, 2001, p. 53). The benefits are both physical and spiritual. The primary force that helps a patient to get well is motivation, and animals in critical care units remind patients there is a life to live away from the hospital and a reason to get well (Cenner, 2001).

Dog Certification

Dogs who do therapy must be trained. Most dogs that practice in hospitals are certified by Therapy Dogs International in New Jersey or by the Delta Society. Animals are insured for liability by these organizations (Cenner, 2001). The Delta Society screens dogs for personality and obedience. Certification reassures personnel that the dog will behave. Leaser (2005) points out, "While many dogs have a sweet nature and calm disposition, and offer love and companionship at home, not all dogs are appropriate or have the proper temperament suitable for a therapy dog..." (p. 978). Dogs also have to know hospital protocols. They must remain calm in the face of careening wheelchairs, screaming and weeping strangers, hospital emergencies, and scary equipment. Animals with aggressive behavior are screened out.

A dog must be a year old to get a license. It must be in good health, accept strangers, be well-groomed and attractive; be able to walk through crowded, noisy areas; obey voice commands; react calmly to other dogs, and remain calm no matter what. Parshall (2003) states, "A license represents a minimum standard that is observable to a hiring agency and clients and that provides liability insurance for the therapy animal" (p. 54).