The Social Agency of Animals in Animal-Assisted Interventions

Dear Colleagues,

For over a decade, the One Health, One Welfare initiative of the American Veterinary Medical Association has promoted the idea that human and animal wellbeing are deeply intertwined and mutually influence one another. Nevertheless, the field of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) and related research has largely focused on measuring the benefits of such programs and services on the human clients they serve. With some exceptions, a one-sided focus has been the norm in the literature, even though AAIs involve a two-way interaction. While there has been an increase in awareness and advocacy for the choice and voice of the animal participants in AAI in recent years, there is a lack of consensus as to what factors should be considered to ensure the animals’ social agency is supported. As a result, practices vary widely, leaving animal welfare and wellbeing standards highly unregulated and inconsistent. Of particular concern is the risk that programs which disregard the animals’ choice and consent may have a negative impact on client outcomes, let alone the perception of the industry as a whole or its social license to operate.

This topic is particularly salient given the research that demonstrates the link among domestic violence, human mental health concerns, and animal welfare. The literature on trauma-informed practice also discusses the importance avoiding re-enactments in which clients relive aspects of their trauma. This can occur when they are intentionally or unintentionally encouraged to repeat harm on another living creature. One example is when animals are coerced into an experience without their consent, which creates a scenario in which the client who was denied agency in order to meet the needs of others is now the one to deny agency to another in order to meet their own needs.

To address these gaps, there is a need for theoretical and empirical research. Original manuscripts that examine the social agency of animals in AAI, how it can be accommodated, measured, and respected, and the link between the animals’ social agency and human therapeutic outcomes are invited for this Special Issue. Specific topics of interest include but are not limited to: comparative or outcome studies of animal agency in AAI; the impacts of supporting animal social agency when working with specific human populations; recognizing the difference between assent/consent and dissent/coercion in animals in AAI; tools or methods for measuring agency, stress behaviour, and calming signals; the impacts of imposed or coercive interactions and touch on animals and humans in AAI; the link between trauma and agency across species; trauma-informed principles and AAI; the correlation between animal and human biomarkers and animal agency in AAI (such as heart rate variability, cortisol, behavioural observation); case studies related to animal agency; etc.

Articles pertaining to animal-assisted activities (e.g., animal visitation programs, therapeutic or adaptive riding) are welcomed, as are articles focused on the inclusion of dogs, cats, horses, and other animals in psychotherapy, experiential learning, life and business coaching, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Social agency
• Equine-assisted learning
• Animal-assisted interventions
• Therapeutic riding
• Animal-assisted therapy
• Animal visitation
• Animal-assisted activities
• Choice
• Equine-assisted psychotherapy
• Welfare
• Trauma-informed
• Consent
• Trauma
• Post-traumatic stress disorder