Animal Therapy: An Adjunct to Pharmacotherapy

Animals are Companions in Life Giving Comfort and Joy

Introduction:

1. In 1977, Delta Society was founded which is an international, not-for-profit organization of pet owners, volunteers, therapists, educators, health professionals, veterinarians, and other professionals.

2. The mission of Delta Society is to promote animals helping people improve their health, independence, and quality of life.

3. Goals:

• Expand public awareness of the positive effects of animals on family, health, and human development.
• Reduce the barriers to involvement of animals in everyday life.
• Bring animal-assisted therapy to more people.
• Increase the number of well-trained service dogs available to people with disabilities.

4. Pet Partners Program - a special program of Delta Society in which a person and his/her animal can register as Pet Partners when the animal has successfully completed a health, skills and aptitude screening, and the person has completed volunteer training requirements.

5. Therapy Dogs International is also an international program similar to Delta Society.

Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA)/Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)

1. In both AAT and AAA, the animal is the motivating force that enhances the medical treatment provided by the well-trained person.

2. AAA-provides opportunities for motivational, educational, recreational, and/or therapeutic benefits to enhance an individuals quality of life. AAA is delivered in a variety of environments by specially trained professionals, para-professionals, and/or volunteers, in association with animals that meet specific criteria.

• Nursing home visits
• Children's long term care facility
• Residential facilities for teenagers with delinquent behavior

3. AAT - is a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT is directed and/or delivered by a health/human service professional with specialized expertise, and within the scope of practice of his/her profession.

LuLu was invited by Ms. Sherri Siegle, RN (Camp Coordinator) to work with the Chickasaw Nation Children's Summer Fun Camp in 1998. LuLu taught the children how animals can be better friends than drugs or alcohol. LuLu was a material contributor to the achievement of a $500,000 grant funded for 5 years from the CDC to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Ardmore, OK	Tishomingo, OK

4. AAT- is designed to promote improvement in human physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning (thinking, intellectual skills). It can be provided in a variety of settings (group or individual). The process is documented and evaluated.

• Occupational therapist is assisted by a dog and their handler to increase a person's range of motion in their shoulder. There is a goal to reach and progress in the sessions is documented.
• Mental Health Professional uses a guinea pig in working with a small group of children with developmental disabilities. People in the group are working to improve communication and social skills. Each person's progress is charted.

LuLu teaching a Freshman Sociology Class at The University of Oklahoma Norman Campus in the Fall 1997 on using Animals for Behavioral Modification in Prisons and Mental Institutions

Goals of Animal Assisted Therapy Programs

Physical

Dogs Mobilizing Victims of Strokes and Spinal Injuries

• Improve fine motor skills
• Improve wheelchair skills
• Improve standing balance

Mental Health

Teens with Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems Find Love and Acceptance from Animals

• Increase verbal interaction between group members
• Increase attention skills (i.e., paying attention, staying on task)
• Develop leisure/recreation skills
• Increase self-esteem
• Reduce anxiety
• Reduce loneliness

Birds in Midwest City, Oklahoma Nursing Home (IHS of Oklahoma City 405-737-8200) bring Cheer to their Patients

Educational

• Increase vocabulary
• Aid in long- or short-term memory
• Improve knowledge of concepts such as size, color, etc.

Mentally and Physically Disabled find Comfort, Peace, Joy, and Exercise while Swimming with Dolphins

Motivational

• Improve willingness to be involved in a group activity
• Improve interaction with others
• Improve interactions with staff
• Increase exercise

Horses in a San Antonio, Texas Program help Troubled Teens with Responsibility, Love, and Other Life Skills

Animals Promote Exercise for Cardiovascular Fitness, Weight Control, Emotional Health, and a Healthy Lifestyle for All Age Groups

Benefits of AAA and AAT as an Adjunct to Pharmacotherapy

Empathy:

• Children who live in homes with animals are more empathetic and compassionate than children in homes without pets.
• Children see animals as peers and will communicate with an animal over a human because an animal is straightforward and lives in the moment.
• As adults, these children will carry over their empathy with animals to humans.

LuLu and Tinker-Belle working with Children from Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital Annual Fund Raiser

Outward Focus:

• Individuals who have mental illness or low self-esteem focus on themselves, animals can help them focus on their environment.
• Rather than thinking about themselves and their problems, they watch and talk to and about the animals.

Nurturing:

• Nurturing skills are learned.
• The children learn to promote the growth and development of another living thing.
• Psychologically, when a person nurtures, his/her need to be nurtured is being fulfilled.

Future Farmers of America Find Love, Companionship, Acceptance and Life Skills from Working With and Raising Animals

Rapport:

• Animals can open a channel of emotionally safe, non-threatening communication between client and therapist.
• A relationship of mutual trust or a feeling of connection or bonding is developed.
• In a therapy setting, animals help present an air of emotional safety.
• The patient may feel that if the therapist has an animal then they "can't be all that bad."
• An animals may break down the initial barriers and resistance.
• Children are especially likely to project their feelings and experiences onto an animal.

Acceptance:

• Animals have a way of accepting without qualification.
• Animals do not care what a person says or looks like.
• Animals are non judgmental, forgiving, and uncomplicated by the psychological games people often play.

Entertainment:

• Animals are entertaining and funny.
• Even people who do not like animals enjoy watching their antics and reactions.
• In long-term care facilities, everyone is entertained by the animals.

LuLu Comforted and Entertained Patients, Staff, Administrators during the May 3, 1999 Tornado at Bone and Joint in Oklahoma City, OK

Socialization:

• When dogs and cats come to a facility, there is more laughter and interaction among residents than during any other "therapy" or entertainment time.
• In an in-patient setting, the presence of an animal encourages socialization in 3 ways:

--between clients

--between clients and staff

--between clients, staff, and family as well as other visitors

• Staff members report that it is easier to talk to residents during and after animal visits.
• Family members often come during animal visits and some have reported that it is an especially comfortable and pleasant time to visit at the hospital.

Mental Stimulation:

• The mind is stimulated because of increased communication with other people, recalled memories, and the entertainment provided by the animals.
• In depressing situations, the presence of the animals serves to brighten the atmosphere, increasing amusement, laughter, and play.
• These positive distractions help to decrease people's feelings of isolation and alienation.

Boston's Finest Psychiatric Hospitals are Using Dogs for Psychotherapy with Depression and Other Emotional Disorders (Clinical Psychiatric News, July 1998)

Physical Contact, Touch:

• When touch is not acceptable for some people, the warm, furry touch of a dog or cat is.
• In hospitals where touch is painful or invasive, the touch of an animal is safe, non-threatening, and pleasant.
• Individuals who have been physically or sexually abused, having an animal to hold, hug, and touch can make a world of difference to people who would otherwise have no positive, appropriate physical contact.

 

 

 

Animals Provide Friendship and Companionship During the Difficult Holiday Season

Physiological Benefits:

• Most people relax when animals are present.
• Studies have shown dramatic decreases in heart rate and blood pressure with animals.
• Studies have even shown that watching fish swimming in an aquarium can be very calming.

Children Find Aquariums Comforting and Settling

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Something More"

• Some people feel a "spiritual fulfillment" or a sense of oneness with life and nature.
• Relationships with animals and nature can be life sustaining to some people.

Service Dogs

Dogs Aid the Blind to Live

A service animal is defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act (federal law, 1990) as any animal individually trained to assist a person with a disability with one or more activities of daily living.

Service animal work is handler focused and benefits their handlers who have disabilities for:

• guidance
• mobility
• sound alert
• seizure alert
• emotional support

Federal law permits those with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals in all places of public accommodation.

Service animals are not considered pets.

Hearing Impaired Find Dogs are Their Ears for Living Life

Foreign Countries Have Their Own Special Animal Friends

Who is Really Leading Who?

For More Information on Therapy Animals Contact:

Delta Society International

www.deltasociety.org

 

Therapy Dogs International

www.tdi-dog.org

 

Therapy On A Leash, Inc.

www.therapyonaleash.com

Tinker-Belle Says So Long and Good Luck to all Her P-5 Friends!!