Animal-assisted therapy

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Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that includes the use of animals in a treatment. The goal of this animal-assisted intervention is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. Studies have documented some positive effects of the therapy on subjective self-rating scales and on objective physiological measures such as blood pressure and hormone levels.

The specific animal-assisted therapy can be classified by the type of animal, the targeted population, and how the animal is incorporated into the therapeutic plan. Various animals have been utilized for animal-assisted therapy, with the most common types being canine-assisted therapy and equine-assisted therapy. ^[1]

Use of these animals in therapies has shown positives results in many cases, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, sexual abuse victims, dementia, autism, and more. It can be used in many different facilities, like hospitals, prisons, and nursing homes, to aid in the therapy provided. Some studies have shown that animal-assisted therapy can improve many aspects of a patient's life, such as improving their overall mood or reducing feelings of isolation.^[2][3]