Animal-Assisted Therapy

What are Animal-Assisted Activities and Animal-Assisted Therapy?

Animal-assisted activities (AAA) provide opportunities for motivational, educational and/or recreational benefits to enhance a person’s quality of life. AAA are delivered by professionals, para-professionals or volunteers who demonstrate knowledge about animals and the human populations with which they interact. As an example of AAA, an individual brings his or her dog to a long-term care facility to visit the residents. Although the staff is involved in the visits, no treatment goals have been set for the visit and, aside from signing in and out, no records are kept.

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a goal-directed intervention in which an animal is incorporated as an integral part of the clinical health-care treatment process. AAT is delivered or directed by a professional health or human service provider who demonstrates skill and expertise regarding the clinical applications of human-animal interactions.

Benefits of Animal-Assisted Activities and Animal-Assisted Therapy

AAA and AAT are so much more than taking a pet to a hospital. They provide motivational, educational and recreational interactions that enhance people’s quality of life. In one setting, trained volunteers bring their dogs to a long-term care facility to provide residents with mental stimulation, physiological benefits and unconditional acceptance. In other settings, the animal interaction motivates rehabilitation patients to walk again, teaches children in special-education classrooms important life skills, and facilitates counseling sessions in mental health centers. Our literacy program helps children improve their reading skills by reading to a therapy animal.

Safety First

With the increased public awareness that animals can be used effectively as an alternative to traditional treatment methods -- and with a growing interest in people wanting to visit schools, nursing homes and hospitals with their pets -- there is a greater urgency to ensure that high standards and safe, humane practices that protect these therapy animals are reinforced. Tremendous potential exists for animals to help people, but with that comes tremendous responsibility to continually improve how animal-assisted therapy services are delivered.

American Humane is committed to developing solutions that ensure ethical standards are practiced. And we are dedicated to maintaining the credibility of the field by operating with the utmost integrity, delivering nothing less than excellent service that takes into consideration the client, the animal handler and, perhaps most importantly, the animal. We want to ensure that therapy teams are well-prepared to confidently deliver service safely and effectively with attention to mitigating risk. We also want to ensure that the animals have the necessary skills and aptitude for doing therapy work and that they truly enjoy it.

American Humane’s Animal-Assisted Therapy Program volunteers undergo intensive training to ensure that their visits are safe for the animals, the handlers and the clients. Our volunteers carry proof of their therapy animals’ regular health exams and vaccinations, and they are diligent in practicing infection control and risk management. In addition, our handler/animal teams are evaluated every two years to ensure that they retain the high level of skill and aptitude necessary to safely volunteer in health-care and educational environments.

Learn more about American Humane’s Animal-Assisted Therapy Program.

Learn more about others practicing animal-assisted therapy in association with the Delta Society, an international, not-for-profit organization founded in 1977, whose mission is to improve human health through service and therapy animals.