Aspen Jones
Professor Pohl
Comp 2-9:10- Research Paper-Final
19 November 2018
The Benefits of Pets and Assisted Therapy
The ownership of pets and animal assisted therapy is caused by multiple factors usually
consisting of physical or mental illnesses such as, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), autism, sight or hearing impairments and epilepsy. Service dogs and pets prove to effect an individual in many positive ways. Service dogs provide a sense of security and safety while with their owner. They possess the ability to provide medical assistance to individuals in some cases, such as alerting their owner when their blood sugar is low which they can detect through the organic compounds emitted through a diabetic’s pores. According to Cherniak, pets not only play a role in the physical health of individuals but also on their mental health as well. Many factors contribute to the use of animal assistance which in turn provides mental and physical assistance to the individuals who need the help and individuals around those in need as well.
The need for animal assistance often goes unaddressed as many individuals believe they themselves, or their ill family member do not need an animal to overcome their mental or physical illness or they feel they can do it themselves without any help. Some circumstances which possibly lead to the need and use of a therapy animal varies greatly. Odendaal explains how animal-assisted therapy has its biggest impact on those with physical and mental issues (Odendaal). One instance which involves a mental illness consists of a young individual who suffers from autism and deals with behavioral problems, this individual in particular struggles
with identifying the good in his life, which then leads to small anger issues which affect his ability to socialize and interact with his family and peers. Through animal-assisted therapy sessions, the individual learns how changing the way he learned to interact with a dog in fear of scaring the animal and wanting to befriend the dog can also tie to how he treats and interacts with his family and peer groups which his therapist provided him with to help improve his relationships with his family and friends. An study provided by Motomura, Yagi, and Ohyama proved to show how individuals with dementia increased social behaviors after attending animal-assisted therapy which in turn improved not only the individual’s life but those around the individual as well.
Those who benefit the most from animal interaction consist of the elderly and those who suffer from a mental or physical illness. The US National Library of Medicine says, half of the elderly individuals in the United States own pets (Cherniak). With the study showing this many elderly individuals own pets and explains how they use animals to help improve the health of older individuals. The deteriorating health of an elder often means a need of constant watch and help. This mostly includes their mental health as many individuals within a nursing home do not receive the same interaction with their family and friends and they once used to. This in turn only minimizes their socialization skills. In a study done by the Cherniak’s they found long conversations with individuals more likely occurred while in the presence of animals, but more brief and quick conversations more likely occurred with the absence of animals. Clinical studies done by Cherniak where nurses wrote their personal observations from working in a nursing home where they noticed animals relieve loneliness and boredom. This source helps to educate individuals about how animals relieve social issues and loneliness by providing comfort and
security to the residents which in turns provides them with more social confidence and nurturing.
The Journal of ECT acknowledges animal assisted therapy can play a big role when it
comes to psychiatric and medical therapies in cases where therapeutic procedures inherently induce fear or induce a negative societal perception. By having animals involved with the therapy it showed how many patients appeared less nervous and more calm and relaxed in the presence of an animal (Barker, Pandurangi, Best). “It seems obvious how living beings could also be utilized to complement the work environment by making it more appealing and relaxing. Of utmost value where animals appear to bring a certain sense of security and warmth into the environment” (Fine). As Fine states, when an animal is within a work environment the atmosphere instantly changes to more of a more relaxed space and everyone within the atmosphere appears affected as moods improve, socialization between co-workers increases, and work productivity skyrockets.
Therapeutic support from animals does not only apply to individuals of certain social status, gender, age, or race. “Conclusions from a vast majority of these studies point out in which pet ownership or interaction with animals in therapeutic settings should be viewed with the interaction of many other social influences” (Fine). Found throughout these studies with Fine she also noted where many individuals who live highly stressed lives, such as families in poverty or disability, may in fact benefit more from social supports, such as those provided from therapeutic animals. This included Fine was also able to concur when Brenda Bryant reported animal companions and pets during childhood provide critical social support for children which impacts them much later on than once believed, the impact of a owning a pet when younger shapes an individual well into their adult years. She also reports animals within a home may assist children
in developing a greater sense of empathy and responsibility for others, and may intensify both a child’s self-esteem and their social skills with other children. By owning a pet a child must learn the needs of the pet and how to adhere to their wants and needs. When a child holds responsibility for a pet they must learn when and how to feed and water the pet, as well as when they need to use the restroom, this teaches a child self-discipline when they learn to provide for the animal on their own and not only just when their guardians tell them to. This teaches a child time-management and responsibility for a being other than themselves. Children with pets often possess a more nurturing and loving ideal of others, as they care for an animal in which they assume is unable to care for them back they learn selflessness. All of these characteristics only show to benefit the child in society settings.
Animals provide support in ways which don’t always stick out significantly. While speaking with Carlee Jones she mentioned how as soon as she walked into a room where there was a dog present an intense feeling of relief flooded over her and she instantly felt at ease whereas before she felt very tense and nervous about what was going to happen (Jones). The presence of animals frequently puts individuals at ease and calms their nerves which often occur when visiting buildings such as therapists or doctors.
From this essay the individuals who read this gather the reasoning some individuals own pets or therapeutic animals are not always significant ordeals, they can be everyday problems which many encounter such as a mental illness, or the desire to teach a child responsibility. Individuals also learn the effects therapeutic animals play on the body and the mind. The effects of the animals on many individuals affect society as a whole, creating a more sociable and well-maintained group of beings with the ability to maintain individual’s mental and physical
health with service animals. Many factors contribute to the use of animal assistance which in turn provides mental and physical assistance to the individuals who need the help and individuals around those in need as well.
Work Cited
Barker, Sandra B. Ph.D.; Pandurangi, Anand K. M.D.; Best, Al M. Ph.D. “Effects of
Animal-Assisted Therapy on Patients' Anxiety, Fear, and Depression Before ECT.” Journal
of ECT: March 2003 - Volume 19 - Issue 1 - pp 38-44
Cherniak, Paul & Ariella. “The Benefit of Pets and Animal-Assisted Therapy to the Health of
Older Individuals.” US National Library of Medicine. 16 Nov. 2014.
Jones, Carlee. Personal interview with individual who participates in therapy, 6 Nov. 2018.
Motomura, Naoyasu; Yagi, Takayoshi; Ohyama, Hitomi. “Animal assisted therapy for people
with dementia.” Psychogeriatrics, 2004; 4: 40–42. Print
Odendaal, J.S.J. “Animal-assisted therapy Ð magic or medicine?” Journal of Psychosomatic
Research, 49, 2000, 275-280. Print