Who let the dogs out? Therapy dogs in clinical practice

• Published in: Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Vol. 26; no. 2; p. 196
• Main Authors: Jones, M G, Rice, S M, Cotton, S M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.04.2018
• Subjects: Animal Assisted Therapy - methods; Animal Assisted Therapy - standards; Animals; Dogs; Humans; Mental Disorders - therapy; clinical governance; Animal-assisted therapy; therapy dog; recommendations; best practice
• ISSN: 1440-1665
• DOI: 10.1177/1039856217749056

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a growing field in Australia, and therapy dogs are becoming increasingly common in clinical settings. This paper aims to highlight the current issues facing AAT in Australia and to make recommendations on how to progress the field. We acknowledge that there are several ways that therapy dogs may enhance treatment outcomes for clients, such as reductions in stress and acute anxious arousal, and improvements in engagement and rapport. These psychological and physiological advantages, however, may not be sustained once interaction with the dog ceases. Clinicians require adequate training and support to develop and implement interventions that are based on sound theoretical foundations, and take advantage of the adjunctive benefits of animal presence. A series of recommendations are made for the professionalisation of AAT, including the development of consensus definitions, clinical governance, accreditation, research and evaluation.