also called pet therapyAnimal assisted therapy DefinitionAnimal- assisted therapy utilizes trained animals and handlers to achieve specific physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with patients. The first known therapeutic use of animals started in Gheel, Belgium in the ninth century. In this town, learning to care for farm animals has long been an important part of an assisted living program designed for people with disabilities. Some of the earliest uses of animal-assisted healing in the United States were for psychiatric patients. The presence of the therapy animals produced a beneficial effect on both children and adults with mental health issues. It is only in the last few decades that Animal-assisted therapy has been more formally applied in a variety of therapeutic settings, including schools and prisons, as well as hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, and outpatient care programs. The way in which Animal-assisted therapy is undertaken depends on the needs and abilities of the individual patient. Dogs are the most common visiting therapy animals, but cats, horses, birds, rabbits, and other domestic pets can be used as long as they are appropriately screened and trained. For patients who are confined, small animals can be brought to the bed if the patient is willing and is not allergic to the animal. One advantage of having volunteers provide this service is that cost and insurance are not at issue. Animal assisted therapy Purpose
Research has shown that heart attack victims who have pets live longer. Also physical contact with a pet can lower high blood pressure, and improve survival rates for heart attack victims. There is also evidence that petting an animal can cause endorphins to be released. Endorphins are chemicals in the body that suppress the pain response. These are benefits that can be enjoyed from pet ownership, as well as from visiting therapeutic animals. Even watching a tank full of tropical fish may lower blood pressure, at least temporarily. A study of 92 patients hospitalized in coronary care units for angina or heart attack found that those who owned pets were more likely to be alive a year later than those who did not. The study found that only 6 percent of patients who owned pets died within one year compared with 28 percent of those who did not own pets.
The therapeutic use of pets as companions has gained increasing attention in recent years for a wide variety of patients -people with AIDS or cancer, the elderly, and the mentally ill. Unlike people, with whom our interactions may be quite complex and unpredictable, animals provide a constant source of comfort and focus for attention. Animals bring out our nurturing instinct. They also make us feel safe and unconditionally accepted. We can just be ourselves around our pets. Research has shown that pet ownership can, reduce stress-induced symptoms. In a study people undergoing oral surgery spent a few minutes watching tropical fish in an aquarium. The relaxation level was measured by their blood pressure, muscle tension, and behavior. It was found that the subjects who watched the fish was much more relaxed than those who did not watch the fish prior to the surgery. People who watched the fish was as calm as another group that had been hypnotized before the surgery. Bringing a pet into a nursing home or hospital can boost peoples' moods and enhance their social interaction. A study conducted at UCLA found that dog owners required much less medical care for stress-induced aches and pains than non-dog owners. In a study conducted at City Hospital in New York, it was found that heart patients who owned the pets were significantly more likely to be alive a year after they were discharged from the hospital than those who didn't own pets. The presence of a pet was found to give higher boost to the survival rate than having a spouse or friends. .Many skills can be learned or improved with the assistance of a therapy animal. If the patient is able to walk or move around, more options are available. Patients can walk or run with small animals, or throwing objects for the animal to retrieve, or learn how to care for farm animals outside. All of these activities develop confidence and motor abilities. Horseback riding has recently gained great therapeutic popularity. It offers an opportunity to work on balance, trunk control, and other skills. Many patients who walk with difficulty, or not at all, get great emotional benefit from interacting with and controlling a large animal. Small motor skills may be developed by petting, grooming, or feeding the animal. Patient communication is encouraged by the response of the animal to either verbal or physical commands. A demonstration with educational content or a activity such as writing or talking about the therapy animals or past pets also develop cognitive skills and communication. Creative inclusion of an animal in the life or therapy of a patient can make a major difference in the patient's comfort, progress, and recovery. We should point out in this connection that pets can be a source of stress to some people. They may worry who will take care of their pets when they die. In most cases, however, the need to take care of the pets give a reason for living to many terminally ill patients, prolonging their life span.
Click here to go to the next Therapy page Click to go back, to the list of alternative medicine therapies page Click here to bypass, and go immediately to the Doctor of Naturopathy help for you, or to read how Naturopathy can help. This website developed by www.designersofwebs.com | |
