Animal-Assisted Interventions in Mental Health: Definitions and Theoretical Foundations

Publisher Summary The advent of scientific medicine toward the end of the nineteenth century had the effect of displacing companion animals from therapeutic settings. The goals of this chapter are to clarify the distinction between therapies and other assistive or recreational uses of animals, and then to explore some of the theories that underlie the incorporation of animals into therapeutic contexts. The field of animal-assisted interventions currently lacks a unified, widely accepted, or empirically supported theoretical framework for explaining how and why relationships between humans and animals are potentially therapeutic. A considerable variety of possible mechanisms of action are proposed or alluded to in the literature, most of which focus on the supposedly unique intrinsic attributes of animals that appear to contribute to therapy. The notion that animals possess certain inherent qualities that may facilitate therapy is widespread in the literature. According to this view, the mere presence of the animal, its spontaneous behaviors, and its availability for interaction may provide opportunities and confer benefits that would be impossible, or much harder, to obtain in its absence. Theories regarding the mechanisms responsible for therapeutic benefits tend to center either on the notion that animals possess unique attributes that can facilitate and contribute to therapy, or that developing a working relationship with an animal can lead to positive changes in cognition and behavior through the acquisition of novel skills, and the acceptance of personal agency and responsibility.