A Critical Analysis: Animal Therapy with Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Animal-assisted therapy involves an interaction involving a human and an animal, along with a therapeutic professional, with intentions of assisting patients' movement toward achieving therapeutic goals. This critical analysis discusses how animal therapy can be utilized effectively in the therapeutic and emotional health care of children and adolescents. Animal therapy is defined and the history of the therapy is reviewed. An overview of the quantitative and qualitative research is presented explaining how the alternative form of therapy can aid in the growth of a child or adolescent's self-esteem, empathy, nurturance, motivation and how it can provide them with companionship. The analysis also discusses how the therapy can be used with youth that have undergone physical and sexual abuse. Animal-assisted therapy precautions and recommendations are also discussed to aid interested professionals in implementing the therapy ethically into their practices. The analysis ends with an overview of animal therapy and the implications it can have in counseling children and adolescents. The counseling implications are reflected and based on the empirical research presented throughout the critical analysis.