DOI: 10.25949/26264885
title: Against the medicalisation of companion animals: a multispecies ethnography of care and companionship. (Dataset)

description: This data was collected as part of a Master of Research in Anthropology exploring the medicalisation of companion animals in Australia. Ethnographic data was collected along with interviews.The data set contains the transcripts of interviews conducted with individuals involved in animal-assisted therapy, who have a service animal, or believe their companion animals significantly impact their mental health.Further research outputs by Katherine Fletcher use this data to discuss the intersubjective relationships between humans and their companion animals, the complexities of these relationships, and the ethical considerations of using another lively social creature as an instrument of therapy.The data has been de-identified.Unspecified consent was obtained by the research participants for data to be used in future research projects.<b>Data context:</b>This data was collected in various locations of the Central Coast NSW Australia.This data was collected to answer a research question: What is the lived experience of people who utilise their relationship with companion species to better their mental health? This was an anthropological project and utilised ethnographic methods, observations and phenomenological theories.Abstract of masters thesis:In modern Australian society, viewing negative human experiences as pathological events is becoming increasingly common. Experiences of suffering, trauma, stress, poverty, neurodivergence and anxiety are conceptualised in terms of clinical disorders, treatable through medical interventions. Human interactions with companion animals have also been medicalised through animal-assisted therapy, service animals, and individually proclaimed ‘emotional support animals’. In the process, interactions with non-humans have been commodified, researched, and medically sanctioned for their utility for human mental health. Yet, while these companions play a hugely significant role in human lives, their relationship to human health is more complicated and ambiguous than clinical psychological models allow. Medical literature often reduces the agency, individualism, and contextual behaviour of non-human species in favour of finding a statistically significant connection between the reduction of pathological symptoms and various human-animal interactions. Critiquing this project, this thesis explores the experience of living, healing, and suffering with non-human companions through a phenomenological lens. It looks beyond clinical psychological models to explore the intersubjective encounters, lively responses, and inevitable conflicts between different social species. Interactions with companion species can allow people to view themselves from different perspectives and undergo animal-motivated self alteration. However, multispecies healing experiences are subjective. They involve an intersection of particular bonds between entities, the interests of the animals, and the attitudes and expectations of humans. Our shared mortality and sociality bind humans and our companion animals together but also create conflicts, existential suffering, and change.<b>Data processing declaration:</b>This data has been processed to ensure the anonymity of the research participants.Details such as names, ages, and locations have been omitted or changed.Some data has been intentionally left out as it cannot be anonymised and still reflect a true research context. This data includes details surrounding medical diagnosis, medication regimes, and specific event details.Please be aware that if you intend to use this data in your research, these anonymising details may change certain aspects of your research results.The words of participants remain as unchanged as possible to ensure the sentiment of their words and their experiences can be used accurately within other research projects.<br>