Patients and their families can protect themselves by asking what type of training and evaluation the animal and handler have undergone. They can also inquire how much experience and training the therapist has with AAT, says Brewer. And of course we want to find ways to have those skills transfer to their lives outside the group. One such program involves the use of clicker training, a positive reinforcement training method that focuses on what the dog does right rather than what the dog does wrong. The hope is that after the families go home, they retain the knowledge of how to motivate good behavior through positive means rather than through punishment.
Initial results appear promising.
For now, those involved in AAT will continue to move toward publishing research and further documenting the benefits of this approach. All rights reserved. All rights reserved.