Claim: Therapy animals are everywhere. Proof that they help is not.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: a distraction method when it comes to various situations or pain, and animals can also help bring happiness, pleasure, and entertainment to the pediatric population. Animals can also help improve children's moods and reinforce positive behaviors while helping to decrease negative ones. Dogs in AAT can be an effective method to reduce pain in children as a complementary treatment. Animal-assistance programs may be useful in prisons to relieve stress of the inmates and workers, or to provide other benefits, but further study is needed to confirm the effectiveness of such programs in these settings. When elderly people are transferred to

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: returning, found the child talking to the dog. Animal-assisted therapy Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. The goal of AAT is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. Advocates state that animals can be useful for educational and motivational effectiveness for participants. In a variety of settings such as prisons, nursing homes, mental institutions, animals are used to assist people with different disabilities. The most commonly used types of AAT are canine-assisted therapy and equine-assisted therapy. AAT is especially helpful in reducing the symptoms of

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: animal, in order to gain information. Before pet therapy can be useful, the child and the animal must first develop a sense of comfort with each other, which is easier to achieve if the child's own pet is used. The applied technique that generates the most helpful information about the victim's experience is telling the child that the animal wants to know how they are feeling or what happened. AAT can be used in children with mental health problems, can be used as a stand-alone treatment or it can be used along with conventional methods. Animals can be used as

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: can benefit from animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in diverse settings around the world. Those conditions include psychological disorder, developmental disorder, dementia, cancer, chronic pain, advanced heart failure, etc. Animal-assisted therapy is commonly used for psychological disorder. Disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), autism spectrum disorder(ASD), post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD) are part of psychological disorders that can benefit from animal-assisted therapy. In recent decades, an increased number of research indicates the social, psychological, and physiological benefits of animal assisted therapy in health and education field. Although the effectiveness of AAT is still unclear due to the lack of

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: Animal-assisted therapy Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. The goal of AAT is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. Advocates state that animals can be useful for educational and motivational effectiveness for participants. In a variety of settings such as prisons, nursing homes, mental institutions, animals are used to assist people with different disabilities. The most commonly used types of AAT are canine-assisted therapy and equine-assisted therapy. AAT is especially helpful in reducing the symptoms of psychological disorders, but most of the effects only

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: certain life activities and help the individuals navigate outside of the home. As with all other interventions, assessing whether a program is effective as far as its outcomes are concerned is easier when the goals are clear and are able to be specified. There are a range of goals for animal assisted therapy programs relevant to children and young people, including enhanced capacity to form positive relationships with others. Therapists rely on techniques such as monitoring a child's behavior with the animal, their tone of voice, and indirect interviewing. These techniques are used, along with the child's pet or other

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: neurochemicals are released when observing human and animal interactions. For example, the neurotransmitter phenylethylamine is released during a positive interaction between human and animal, further improving mood. Similarly,dog assistance can potentially mediate oxytocin which effects social and physical wellbeing and decrease blood pressure . The psychological benefits of animals focus mainly on dog and human interactions, the reduction of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and increased resilience. Animals in this capacity can further provide emotional and psychological assistance and support, addressing several PTSD symptoms. The presence of an animal can alleviate intrusion symptoms by providing a reminder that there is no

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: nursing homes or LTC facilities, they often become passive, agitated, withdrawn, depressed, and inactive because of the lack of regular visitors or the loss of loved ones. Supporters of AAT say that animals can be helpful in motivating the patients to be active mentally and physically, keeping their minds sharp and bodies healthy. Therapists or visitors who bring animals into their sessions at the nursing home are often viewed as less threatening, which increases the relationship between the therapist/visitor and patient. There are numerous techniques used in AAT, depending on the needs and condition of the patient. For elderly dementia

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: for the Treatment of Trauma in Military Veterans Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a multidimensional diagnosis and is often difficult to diagnose due to varying severity and forms. PTSD is often difficult to treat due to high drop-out rates and low responses to traditional psychotherapeutic approaches and interventions. Alternative approaches, including animal assisted interventions (AAIs), have attracted increased popularity, noting the benefit from comfort animals provide through social and emotional companionship, serving as a complementary or alternative therapy. AAIs are any intervention that incorporates and includes an animal in the treatment process and encompass Animal-Assisted Therapy (therapeutic interventions), Animal-Assisted Activities

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: patients, animal assisted therapy provides opportunities to have close physical contact with the animals, which may be helpful for people whose loved ones have passed and who do not frequently receive visitors. There are various animal species used in animal-assisted therapy (AAT). Individual animals are evaluated with strict criteria before being used in AAT. The criteria include appropriate size, age, aptitude, typical behaviors and the correct level of training. The most common forms of AAT are with dogs and horses. There is also published research on dolphin therapy. In canine-assisted therapy, therapy dogs interact with clients in animal assisted interventions,

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: pet therapy. Therefore, if the animal in question does not belong to the child, there may be some negative side effects when the child discontinues therapy. The child will have become attached to the animal, which does raise some ethical issues as far as subjecting a child to the disappointment and possible relapse that can occur after therapy discontinues. Another limitation of animal assisted therapy is that AAT might be a short term reinforce, not a long term one. The effectiveness of AAT is also still unclear due to the lack of clarity regarding the degree to which the canine

title: Grief therapy dog
text: cases, life experience has led people to believe they will be hurt by the people closest to them; animals can provide non-judgmental and unrestricted emotional support. This is true for both children and adults. In a survey done by the American Animal Hospital Association, many of those who responded specified that they were emotionally dependent on their pet. Therapists believe they can utilize clients' attachment to animals for therapeutic reasons (Urichuk). The presence of a dog in a therapy session has indicated improvements in a patient's outlook, as well as their willingness to share on a deeper level. The petting

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: patient bonds with the animal. A study in 2017 evaluated results from ten research articles and found that animal assisted therapies (particularly using dogs) resulted in measurable quality of life improvements for patients with dementia. One limitation of pet therapy centers on the application during scenarios that involve adults who have been sexually assaulted. While pets do tend to cause more comfort to victims, pet therapy may not be the catalyst that provides positive success in therapy sessions. As mentioned above, adults tend not to focus as much on having an animal companion, and therefore, pet therapy cannot be attributed

title: Treatments for PTSD
text: are often the most likely candidates for animal-assisted therapy, but AAT can also help people in personal homes, schools, community centers, nursing homes, or rehabilitation centers. “Interaction with the animals... decrease[s] blood pressure and to have a calming effect on individuals with dissociative disorder.” AAT can also reduce anger and stress. AAT is often overlooked or not considered within PTSD patients treatment options. Adaptive sports and recreational therapy is a possible treatment for PTSD that works by elevating the mood of soldiers. This form of treatment is separate from the recreational therapy services provided by the department of Veteran Affairs

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: animals and animal spirits. In modern times animals are seen as "agents of socialization" and as providers of "social support and relaxation". The earliest reported use of AAT for the mentally ill took place in the late 18th century at the York Retreat in England, led by William Tuke. Patients at this facility were allowed to wander the grounds which contained a population of small domestic animals. These were believed to be effective tools for socialization. In 1860, the Bethlem Hospital in England followed the same trend and added animals to the ward, greatly influencing the morale of the patients

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: benefits, canine assisted therapy is used as a complement to other therapies to treat diagnosis such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and dementia. Canine assistance can also be used in classroom for promoting the development of creative writing and living skills and the participation of children in group activities. There are programs called canine-assisted reading programs which facilitate children with special educational needs. These programs utilize the calm, non-judgmental, happy characteristics of canines to let the process of reading become more meaningful and enjoyable for children. With these benefits, researchers suggest

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: as the reason for success in those types of therapy sessions. There are some ethical concerns that arise when applying pet therapy to younger victims of sexual assault. For example, if a child is introduced to an animal that is not their pet, the application of pet therapy can cause some concerns. First of all, some children may not be comfortable with animals or may be frightened, so there would be ethical concerns with using pet therapy, which could be avoided by asking permission to use animals in therapy. Second, a special bond is created between animal and child during

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: (enrichment activities), and Service/Assistance Animals (i.e., trained animals that assist and support with daily activities). In general, animals can have an overall positive effect on health and can improve mood and quality of life. Animals have two types of effects, direct and indirect, on a mental health spectrum including biological, psychological, and social responses, further targeting marked symptoms of PTSD (i.e., re-experiencing, avoidance, changes in beliefs/feelings, and hyperarousal) (Johnson et al., 2018). Direct effects of animals include a decrease in anxiety and blood pressure while indirect effects result in increased social interactions and overall participation in everyday activities. Biologically, specific

title: Animal-assisted therapy
text: because the patient would find that their speech would not shock or disturb the dog and this reassured them and so encouraged them to relax and confide. This was most effective when the patient was a child or adolescent. Some claim that AAT is based on attachment theory, though attachment theory originated in the 1950s and AAT originated earlier (as described above). Increased recognition of the value of human–pet bonding was noted by Dr. Boris Levinson in 1961. Dr. Boris Levinson accidentally used animals in therapy with children when he left his dog alone with a difficult child, and upon

title: Emotional support animal
text: scientific research is limited, of low scientific quality, and what little research exists suggests that the benefit, if any, is smaller than its proponents hoped. A small number of studies have found that emotional support animals increased their owners' distress. There is no research at all on unusual animals, such as hamsters. Requests for letters to obtain exemption from airline baggage fees or no-pet housing rules can also damage the owner's therapeutic relationship with the psychologist or other mental healthcare provider, regardless of whether the request is approved or denied. Ethically, providers of psychotherapy may choose to recommend an emotional