The presence of an animal has been known to make interactions between people less stressful as the focus of attention and conversation tends to shift towards the animal. Therefore, in animal assisted therapy, animals can help the clients feel more at ease while talking to their therapist. This is especially beneficial to children who may feel even more nervous as they are speaking to an adult whom they don't know very well. 

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children Purposes: Initiate Interaction 

Therapy dogs are brought into schools following a disaster such as the death of a student, a school shooting, fire, or severe natural disaster. These dogs offer the distressed children comfort. 

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children Purposes: Intervene After a Crisis 

- Initiate interaction 
- Provide additional social support 
- Intervene after a crisis 
- Work with mental health professional as 'co-therapist'

Xavier University

Recently, an increasing number of children have started to receive treatment for mental health issues. Counselors help children to work through difficult emotions that they are experiencing that they may not properly understand. Furthermore, treatment for children looks different than it does for adults as there is the challenge of making it developmentally appropriate. One form of therapy that has been seen to be beneficial in children is Animal Assisted therapy. 

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children 

Jalongo, M.R. & Guth, L.J. (2022). Animal-assisted counseling for young children: Evidence base, best practices, and future prospects. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01368-5. 

Animal-assisted counseling for young children: Evidence base, best practices, and future prospects 

While Animal Assisted Therapy has been gaining popularity in recent years, it has been utilized for much longer. For instance, in the 1700s, farm animals were used to help treat mental illness in institutionalized patients. In the 1800s, Florence Nightingale proposed that interactions with small animals could help to comfort patients with chronic and critical illnesses. Furthermore, Sigmund Freud noticed that patients were more comfortable when his dog was present. 

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children : History 

- Animals often help children to open up more quickly due to their natural interest and curiosity  
- Children can form healthy attachment relationships to the animals and thus with other people 
- They can learn how to behave appropriately with an animal which can help them to learn how to behave around other people, especially other children. 
- Animals provide children with unconditional acceptance 
- Animals communicate in ways children understand. These methods are more concrete and include expressing affection and seeking attention. 
- Therapists can use animals to help them develop empathy and caregiving skills.
- Children can be motivated by animals to complete necessary tasks such as academic tasks and participating in their treatment. 
- Having an animal present can help to calm children emotionally and help to reduce their anxieties. Help them to open up.
- Create a sense of renewed hope.

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children: Benefits 

Despite the many benefits of Animal Assisted therapy, it is important to note that it does not work for everyone and can potentially have problems. For instance, its important to consider the fact that some children have allergies or are afraid of certain animals. Some other potential issues include:
- Trust issues 
- Distraction from treatment 
- Disruption of client and therapist relationship
- Hard to determine whether the child and the animal will get along well together 
- If the animal has a handler other than the therapist, the child might interact with the handler more than their therapist. 


Animal Assisted Therapy for Children: Potential Problems 

- Animal-assisted counseling for young children: Evidence base, best practices, and future prospects 

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children References 

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children Purposes 

In a study evaluating the efficacy of animal-assisted therapy, data on outcome measures and therapeutic alliances were not statistically significant. However, observable trends showed that the combination of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and animal-assisted therapy may be beneficial for easing anxiety symptoms in school-aged children.

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