Search Results (8)

The mental health of prekindergarten (PK)-12th grade students is of extreme importance. Therapy dogs are a unique intervention to address mental health needs in educational frameworks. The purpose of this pilot study is to examine the components of a PK-12 district-wide therapy dog program and the implications for the mental health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff. This research used qualitative methods for semi-structured interviews with therapy dog handlers, observations including photographs, and researcher field notes of therapy dogs and handlers in their education environment. Thematic analysis of transcripts from semi-structured interviews was used for qualitative analysis. The results indicated that the strategic implementation of a district-wide therapy program supported a sustainable program that is integrated into the educational ecosystem. The participants perceived that the therapy dogs impacted mental health in the domains of social, emotional, and behavioral support. A district-wide systematic approach to addressing mental health and well-being needs of students, faculty, and staff with therapy dogs’ hinges on a comprehensive training and evaluation process, district-level support, and consistent implementation across educational settings. Therapy dogs can be embedded within educational structures to create a multilevel impact from the classroom to school to district level for a sustainable program. Therapy dogs positively contribute to the mental health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff in PK-12 education settings. Full article

The aim of this work is to explore and understand the lived experience of nurses who chose to schedule visits with an Emotional Support Animal (ESA), i.e., a dog, during their working shift. Background/Objectives: Nursing practice is rigorous, weighted with intense responsibility that creates an environment conducive to stress and anxiety for the nurses, who have reported a higher level of work stress than other healthcare professionals. Knowing and addressing the factors impacting mental health/nurses’ well-being is crucial to providing care to patients. Stressful work environments result in burnout, compassion fatigue, depression, anxiety, suicide, and resignation. Understanding nurses’ perspectives on work related stress encourages hospitals to structure practices supporting nurses’ mental health and ability to provide quality care. Methods: A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological approach was employed. Participants scheduled six weekly 10-min visits with Rex, a certified Service Dog for anxiety depression and PTSD, and registered ESA. A sample of 11 RNs participated in Rex visits at the workplace; field notes were taken during observations of visits. Semi-structured 30-min interviews conducted via Zoom, audio-recorded, and transcribed with NVivo were conducted. Results: Data were examined with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four main themes emerged: Preparing for the unknown, Doing the work, Refueling and resetting-Visits with Rex, What about nurses? Conclusions: This study highlights the need for nurses and hospital systems to incorporate self-care/self-reflection, including time/opportunities for nurses’ stress management during their practice. Knowledge of nurses receiving ESA interventions sheds light on how to protect/preserve the well-being of nurses practicing in this demanding profession. ESAs for nurses in the workplace offers an option to utilize dog therapy to re-energize and continue their shift renewed and refreshed. Full article

(1) Background: This study investigates the experiences of prisoners with serious mental disorders who participated in a two-month dog-assisted therapy program within a Spanish prison. The aim was to understand the emotional and psychosocial impacts of the program on this population. (2) Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used with purposeful sampling of sixteen prisoners (mean age 43.4) who completed the program. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key themes. (3) Results: Participants reported a positive emotional impact, highlighting the significance of bonding, love, and reciprocal affection with the therapy dog. They emphasized the dog’s unconditional nature as a source of comfort and connection. The importance of supportive relationships with the therapists who guided the sessions was also noted. Additionally, participants reflected on their motivations for joining the program and described progressive emotional changes over the course of their participation. (4) Conclusions: Dog-assisted therapy shows potential as a psychosocial intervention to enhance the prison experience for individuals with serious mental disorders. By fostering emotional well-being and positive connections, it may contribute to improved rehabilitation outcomes and better quality of life for this population. Full article

(1) Background: Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is an experiential intervention to promote psychological, physical, and social functioning in children and adults. Only few studies have been conducted on DAT in adults with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF). The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of patients with MID-BIF undergoing DAT in a mental health care facility. (2) Method: Seven patients completed 13 to 15 sessions of DAT. Within two weeks of completing the program, they were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. The transcripts of the interviews were analysed using interpretational phenomenological analysis. In addition, the patients’ relatives and the DAT therapist were interviewed, and a focus group discussion took place with each patient’s treatment team. (3) Results: The patients’ experiences were predominantly positive. Physical contact with the dog calmed them down. The dog offered them emotional support and helped them to make contact inside and outside the therapy and the setting where they lived. The patients also liked the fact that DAT focused on the dog rather than their problems, that the therapy was experiential and using a positive approach, and that, during the therapy, they did not feel like a patient but a human being. DAT is a promising therapy for patients with MID-BIF in mental health care facilities, but more research into its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and ways to implement DAT in clinical practice is needed to make more definitive statements. Full article

Understanding how humans perceive and construct experiences of non-human animal empathy (hereafter, ‘animal/s’) can provide important information to aid our understanding of how companion animals contribute to social support. This study investigates the phenomenology of animal empathy by examining how humans construct sense-making narratives of these experiences, with the hypothesis that anthropomorphic attributions would play a key role in these constructions. Comprehensive, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants, using established interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology to facilitate deep examination of how they interpreted and reacted emotionally. Participants were consistent in reporting changes to their companion animals’ normal behaviour as the key to the identification of animal empathy experiences, yet they were highly paradoxical in their constructions of perceived internal drivers within their dogs and cats. Explanations were highly dichotomous, from highly anthropomorphic to highly anthropocentric, and these extremes were combined both within individual participant narratives and within some thematic constructs. This research demonstrates that experiences of companion animal empathy can be powerful and meaningful for humans, but the inconsistent mixture of anthropomorphic and anthropocentric reasoning illustrates the confused nature of human understanding of animals’ internal states. Insight into how humans construct animal empathy has implications for the moral status of these animals and an application for companion animals used explicitly for social support, such as in animal-assisted therapy and emotional support animals. Full article

Understanding the inner life of people with dementia can be challenging and there is a need for new and different approaches. Previous research shows that people with dementia can experience emotions such as harmony, closeness, and joy as well as sadness and concern when interacting with a therapy dog. Simultaneously, memories of past episodes are brought back to life when the person interacts with the dog. This raises questions about whether photos of interaction with a dog can evoke memories or support people with dementia in communicating emotions in a corresponding way. The aim of this study was to explore photo-elicited conversations as a tool for engagement and communication in dementia care. Repeated video observations of photo-elicited conversations between a woman with dementia and a dog handler/assistant nurse were used to collect data. The video recordings were analyzed with a phenomenological hermeneutical method. The role of photo-elicited conversations as a tool for engagement and communication in dementia care is that the conversations can help the person with dementia to feel a sense of being situated and recall feelings of liveliness and belongingness, and thus supporting the person’s sense of self. The results can be used to deepen nursing staff’s understanding of using photo-elicited conversations in dementia care. Full article

As service dogs, emotional support dogs, and therapy dogs have become more prevalent in the USA, so too has the controversy surrounding their legitimacy. Yet, there is a lack of objective data regarding the public’s understanding of the role played by each of these types of animals, as well as their perceptions regarding the legitimacy of their integration. An anonymous, online survey was distributed to examine the perceptions of US adults who do not own any type of assistance animal. A total of 505 individuals responded to the online survey, yielding 284 usable responses. Results suggest widespread misconceptions about definitions, rules, regulations, and rights associated with each type of assistance dog. In general, service dogs are more likely to be perceived as helping with a legitimate need, and their access to public spaces is viewed favorably. While there are some concerns about the legitimacy and necessary access rights for emotional support dogs, members of the public correctly identified the roles and rights of therapy dogs. Despite the media’s focus on abuses and false representation of these dogs, most participants reported feeling the majority of people are not taking advantage of the system. Full article

A severe mental illness like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is known to have psychosocial consequences that can lead to a decreased quality of life. Research in Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) has revealed that the presence of a dog can have a positive effect on health, e.g., increase quality of life and lessen depression and anxiety. However, canine companionship is not a catch-all solution. Previous research has revealed methodological limitations that prohibit any clear conclusions, as well as a sparsity of critical reflection in anecdotal reports and case studies, which means that more research is needed to contextualize the findings. There has been an increasing interest in animal-assisted intervention in Denmark in recent years. Previously, authorities could only grant service dogs to adults with physical disabilities, but now this has been extended to adults with mental illnesses. Therefore, it has become important to explore how these service dogs are incorporated into rehabilitation practices in mental health, and how rehabilitation professionals react to the use of service dogs. This paper is a case study of a person who suffers from PTSD. This study examines how the person describes the significance of having a dog during her rehabilitation process, and how this is integrated with existing rehabilitation. The case study has been developed based on a semi-structured interview. A Thematic Content analysis was used to reveal dominant patterns and categories. This study revealed a lack of communication and collaboration between public administration (social service), service dog providers, health rehabilitation services, and providers of psychological treatment. It also revealed limited access for the dog to public services, limited success in incorporating the dog into goal-directed treatment and rehabilitation procedures, a strongly felt emotional support from the dog, and a perceived stigma by having the dog wearing a vest with he words “mentally ill” printed on it. Full article