Therapeutic devices

• 1

  • N-HA used in psychology as a therapeutic device to reduce stress to individuals
  • Evidence = Allen (2003) who reported that having pets lowered blood pressure in children the same as reading aloud, provided comfort to the elderly facing life stresses, and decreased cardiovascular risk
• 2

  • Another therapeutic approach focuses on helping socially isolated individuals learn to trust and build relationships with others, known as attachments
  • Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) employs animals like dogs, cats, dolphins, or even fish and hamsters as “behavioral facilitators”
  • Clients can bond with animals through activities like grooming or feeding, gradually processing to verbal interactions like giving commands to a dog
  • This helps foster a social bond between the client and theranimal, with aim of transferring these skills to human relationships
• 2(2)

  • therapists can use animal-client relationship to address sensitive issues and discuss painful experiences
• 3 - Counter

  • research conducted has been poor quality
  • Studies showing benefits have usually only looked over short-term outcomes; they’ve not compared the generalisability of effects from one animal to another; and the’ve typically had no control condition, so there’s no way of knowing if the apparent outcomes are simply due to the passage of time, or to any kind of sociable or pleasurable activity