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November 25, 2024

The “Dogter” Is In: An Exploration of Animal-Assisted Therapy and the Role of Animals in Improving Mental Health

By Heidi Moser, LPC, Hopewell Clinician

Relationships between human beings and animals have existed since the dawn of time (picture a big wooden boat floating around the flooded earth with two of every creature). Throughout history animals have provided food and transportation, helped tend fields, herded and protected livestock, served as police officers, guided the blind, and moved into our homes and hearts. More recently animals have even taken on the job of therapist as part of a treatment modality, Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), that is gaining increased recognition and research attention.

So what is AAT? What does it take to be a therapy animal? How is that different from a service animal? And what are emotional support animals? Read on as we explore these questions and more together.

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) Definition

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) defines AAT as “a goal directed intervention in which an animal meeting specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. Animal-assisted therapy is delivered and/or directed by health or human service providers working within the scope of their profession. Animal-assisted therapy is designed to promote improvement in human physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function” (https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/avma-policies/animal-assisted-interventions-definitions). While the AVMA provides definitions and general guidelines for AAT, the AVMA is not a governing body of therapies involving animals. In fact, there is no one individual regulatory agency for the field.

What classifies an animal as a therapy animal can vary and depends upon the accrediting organization. Numerous organizations register or certify therapy animals and handlers. Some, like the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, certify canines only, while other organizations like Pet Partners (formerly the Delta Society) register multiple species of animals including guinea pigs, birds, and alpacas to name a few. Published information can be found in the Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy (now in its sixth edition) and the Standards of Practice in Animal-Assisted Interventions (https://therapyanimalstandards.org/), both of which provide best practices for individuals and organizations engaged in AAT.

Therapy animals must have proper training along with steady temperaments, and owners/handlers must be knowledgeable and able to work effectively with their pets. In addition to remaining under their handlers’ control, therapy animals must be able to remain calm and responsive in the presence of loud or unexpected stimuli, such as one might find in a public setting. A reputable certifying organization abides by published standards and will not grant status of therapy animal to just any pet (or owner). For instance, while my completely adorable Corgi, Ducky, is super friendly most of the time, she barks at kids in strollers and lunges at people on bikes when we are out walking. Such behavior effectively rules her out as a therapy dog (unless her lackadaisical owner works on habituating Ducky to these things, and even then, there are no guarantees).

Therapy Animals, Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals – Oh My!

Therapy animals and service animals have similarities, but service animals are often more specific in their function and go through more rigorous training and screening. Like therapy animals, service animals must meet certain criteria and be recognized by a certifying body. However, unlike them, federal laws allow for service animal provisions. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) a service animal is defined as “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability” (https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/regulations/title-iii-regulations).

Along with dogs, the ADA specifically recognizes miniature horses as service animals. According to the law, businesses and government agencies must make reasonable accommodations to allow a disabled person’s use of their service animal. It is important to note that the ADA is intended to provide legal protection for people with disabilities, not service animals apart from their owners. The law also requires service animals to be housebroken and under the control of their handlers at all times.

Hours and hours of work and expertise go into training a service animal, yet even then, not every animal that undergoes the training makes the cut. A steady temperament that is appropriate to the served person/population proves to be a major factor in whether that animal goes on to work as a service animal. For an interesting and in-depth look at what it takes to train (and become) a service dog, check out the Netflix documentary, “Inside the Mind of a Dog.”

Emotional support or assistance animal is a term used to describe an animal that provides emotional and/or physical benefit to their owner but does not necessarily have any formal training or certification like service and therapy animals do. While the ADA only allows provisions for service animals, the federal Fair Housing Act extends protection for disabled individuals and their emotional support or assistance animals. Once again, this law concerns individuals with disabilities, so if a person wants to move into apartment that does not allow pets, they need to have a documented disability in order to claim their pet is an emotional support or assistance animal.

Doctors and therapists are increasingly being asked to write emotional support animal (ESA) letters for clients. Whether or not an individual could be provided with an ESA letter depends on their diagnosis as well as the policy of their provider’s practice/agency on issuing such letters.

Animal-Assisted Interventions at Hopewell

So, how does all of this apply at Hopewell? Although Hopewell is first and foremost a working farm and does not offer Animal-Assisted Therapy per se, we do incorporate Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) into treatment, depending on a resident’s preferences and individualized service plan. The AVMA describes AAI as “a broad term that is now commonly used to describe the utilization of various species of animals in diverse manners beneficial to humans” (https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/avma-policies/animal-assisted-interventions-definitions).

At Hopewell residents can participate in Equine Assisted Learning, facilitated by Hopewell clinician, Annie Melinz, under the guidance of our Acting Executive Director, Colleen Welder, both of whom are avid horse enthusiasts and trained in this therapeutic modality. During this activity residents interact with the horses by walking with them, grooming them, and learning to read their body language and vocalizations. Residents also learn etiquette and manners around the horses and can gradually gain confidence through guiding the horses. Annie checks in with residents before and after the group and noted that residents report feeling more calm and “free” after working with the horses. The horses can also help residents process emotions through what they observe in the horses. Annie shared, “Horses can feel someone’s heartbeat from six feet away. Horses can pick up on and reflect how we are feeling.”

In addition, many residents and staff enjoy taking care of our resident horses (two minis and two full-sized), goats, pigs, turkeys, and numerous chickens. Residents feed the animals, clean their stalls, brush the horses, escort the horses and goats to the pasture, and feed and collect eggs from the chickens. Hopewell also has a herd of Belted Galloway cattle (picture giant roaming Oreo cookies that chew their cud and moo). Four calves were born this year! What a joy it was to see the little ones in the field among the herd. One of the calves, named Macy, was sadly rejected by her mother and had to be bottle fed. Needless to say there was competition among the Hopewell community when it came time to feed her.

A resident who recently completed her treatment program and returned home to her family was asked how interacting with the animals at Hopewell impacted her treatment. She replied, “It gave me relief during the day, helping them. They helped with anxiety and calmed my nerves.” Noted among the experiences that stand out most for her was feeding the baby calf which she described as “special.”

Another opportunity to interact with living creatures at Hopewell includes weekday fish feeding at one of the two ponds on campus. Strange as it might sound, residents and staff particularly enjoy the appearance of four large catfish that seem to be able to tell time (or perhaps more accurately detect the presence of footsteps on the dock). One resident who regularly attends the fish feeding stated, “I think the time I started feeding the fish is when I began to participate more in other activities as well.” This resident was instrumental in naming all four of the catfish and knows them so well that he can easily pick out each one!

Animals appear to help facilitate residents’ engagement in the Hopewell therapeutic farm community through sharing in enjoyable activities involving the other living creatures who reside here. Connection with others is an important part of achieving and maintaining wellness, but for those struggling with mental health conditions, sometimes interacting with other people proves challenging. Connecting with and through animals can be more accessible for some, especially those who may struggle with social anxiety.

The Human-Animal Bond

All the above examples speak to the healing effect animals can have in our lives and demonstrate the power of the human-animal bond. It is well known that interacting with an animal can improve human physical health. Research has shown that spending time with animals can reduce stress and even decrease blood pressure. When one considers the mind-body connection, it makes sense that animals improve our mental wellness, too. People report less depression and anxiety after spending time with animals. Animals offer us companionship and can be a good cure for loneliness.

But one does not need to be a Hopewell resident or in an animal-assisted therapy program to reap the benefits of animal assisted interactions. While animals are certainly not for everyone, those of us who have ever loved a pet are well aware of the meaningful and unique nature of the human-animal bond. Taking care of an animal involves getting up off the couch to walk the dog, play with the cat, exercise the horse, etc. Pet owners experience a sense of responsibility and satisfaction in caring for something other than themselves.

Animals can make us smile and laugh, enriching our lives in countless ways. Aside from providing food and shelter, one might start to wonder whether we do as much for them as they do for us. Although they regularly communicate with us in other ways, if animals could speak our language what might they say about the human-animal bond?