Animals as a therapeutic device

• Traditionally, non-human animals were used for physical disabilities, to aid the user with practical tasks, or as alert animals, to warn the user or general public to a possible hazard or emergency
• It has recently become popular for non-human animals to be used

  therapeutically, to improve well-being of those with a psychological

  disorder
• animals as a therapeutic device have been demonstrated by the presence if pets to reduce stress.
• Allen et al 


  presence of pets reduced the blood pressure of children reading aloud, buffered the elderly against life event stresses and reduced cardiovascular risk - highlighting the benefits that non human animals have within psychology
• another kind of therapeutic approach animal assisted therapy

  animals seen as behavioural facilitators. bono is created between human and animal through physical interaction, feeding grooming etc. then verbal interactions are encouraged. the ultimate aim is to transfer social skills learned with animals over to humans. enable social disturbed to isolated to learn how to trust and form relationships with others.
• many have criticised the studies within this area of research

  Anestis et al revised 14 studies of equine therapy and identified several serious methodological issues. sample sizes are very small, no control groups and the individuals were not randomly assigned to treatment groups. any benefits may simply be due to having special attention from therapist and not the animal therapy. highlighting that therapist-client relationships is the most important.