Future Directions in Human-Animal Bond Research

Beck, Alan M.; Katcher, Aaron Honori

doi:10.1177/0002764203255214

Cited by 193 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…It is important to note that the biophilia hypothesis is difficult to test in its general form, as its definition encompasses a variety of living things. Furthermore, attitudes and practices toward animals greatly differ by culture, making it difficult to examine biological influences without much cross-cultural research (A. M. Beck & Katcher, 2003).…”

Section: Mechanisms Of Therapeutic Benefits and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Using a Therapy Dog in Mindfulness Training

Henry

2015

Anthrozoös

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Research from various fields has demonstrated the benefits of human-animal interaction for physical and mental health. Recently, animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has become increasingly popular in a variety of healthcare settings-including inpatient mental health care facilities. However, there is limited research investigating the efficacy of AAT in outpatient sites. In addition, the impact of animals as an adjunct to psychotherapy treatment remains mostly uninvestigated. Therefore, it is necessary to empirically explore what therapy animals may contribute to specific treatment interventions with specific populations.The present study was a randomized control trial examining the psychological and physiological effects of adding AAT to a modified mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) for clients experiencing psychological distress, including anxious and depressive symptoms. It was hypothesized that AAT would be particularly complementary to mindfulness-based interventions because the therapy dog would iv provide a focus for attention to the current experience and exemplify acceptance and "being," enabling the understanding and practice of the main aspects of mindfulness.Subjects (N = 21) were randomly assigned to the MBSR or MBSR + AAT group and then completed an intervention consisting of six 50-minute individual therapy sessions.Each session included didactic and experiential components modified for delivery with or without a certified therapy dog.State and trait mindfulness, state and trait anxiety, psychological distress, blood pressure, and heart rate were assessed at each session. Results indicate that all participants experienced fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms, decreased psychological distress, and increased mindfulness skills from pre-to posttreatment.Additionally, state anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate decreased within sessions. No significant difference was found between the control and experimental groups, indicating that interaction with a therapy dog had no impact on symptom reduction, skill acquisition, or client satisfaction in the current study. Future studies need to increase methodological rigor by including multiple therapist/dog teams and increasing sample size. Moreover, researchers must examine more thoroughly the role the dog might have in altering the social environment, such as reducing stigma surrounding mental health services and enhancing the therapeutic alliance. This study examined the psychological and physiological effects of adding animal-assisted therapy to a modified mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) for clients experiencing psychological distress, including anxious and depressive symptoms. State and trait mindfulness, state and trait anxiety, psychological distress, blood pressure, and heart rate were collected during each session of the intervention from college students recruited at Utah State University. Results support that participants experienced less anxiety and depressive symptoms and increased mindfulness skills from pre-to postt...

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Section: Mechanisms Of Therapeutic Benefits and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Using a Therapy Dog in Mindfulness Training

Henry

2015

Anthrozoös

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“…Looking back at previous studies showing that communications skills can be improved by attending EASW (Beck & Katcher, 2003;Bizub et al, 2003;Burgon, 2003;Macauley & Gutierrez, 2004) as well as being absent from it (Pauw, 2000), the study results could shed some light over that discrepancy. The communication decreases among clients and increases among staff when the focus in the interaction is on performing and the horse are regarded as an object.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Mentalizing and Emotional Labor Facilitate Equine-Assisted Social Work with Self-harming Adolescents

Carlsson

Ranta

Træen

2015

Child Adolesc Soc Work J

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This article explores equine-assisted social work (EASW). Horses' capacities to mirror human emotions create possibilities for authentic relationships between clients and staff. This study examines what eases or counteracts the horse's capacity to facilitate relationships perceived by humans to be authentic. Video recordings of the human-horse interactions of three staff members and four female self-harming clients aged 15-21 years in a residential treatment facility were analyzed. The findings show that if the staff gave instructions and advice similar to traditional equestrian sports in combination with viewing the horse as an object, EASW is not facilitated. EASW seems to be facilitated when the horse is perceived as a subject by both staff and clients, provided that the staff gave meaning to the horse's behavior. The staff needed to highlight empathy for the horse when the horse is not able to fulfill its task without adding depth to the client's performance, to avoid raising defense mechanisms. The essence of EASW were perceived as eased by staff members when they focus on the client's emotions and help the client understand that the horse is acting in response to the client's and the staff´s behavior through mentalizing and enacting emotional labor in regarding the horse as a subject. The results indicate the need for higher demands on staff members in order to facilitate EASW.Depending on whether the staff and the clients focus on performance or on emotions, different positive or negative outcomes on communication, self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-image will be likely to emerge.Keywords: adolescents, emotional labor, equine-assisted social work, mentalizing, self-injury MENTALIZING AND EMOTIONAL LABOR FACILITATES EASW 3Mentalizing and emotional labor facilitate equine-assisted social work with self-harming adolescents Equine Assisted Social Work (EASW) may contribute positively to the treatment of adolescents with psychiatric disorders, or those who are at risk for developing such disorders.It may be of value to develop social skills, feelings of mastery, meta-cognition and reflectivity abilities, self-confidence and self-esteem in these individuals (Bizub, Joy, & Davidson, 2003;Dell, Chalmers, Bresette, Swain, Rankin, & Hopkins, 2011;Dell, Chalmers, Dell, Sauve, & MacKinnon, 2008;Hauge, Kvalem, Pedersen, & Braastad, 2013;Holmes, Goodwin, Redhead, & Goymour, 2011;Klontz, Bivens, Leinart, & Klontz, 2007; Macauley & Guitierrez, 2004;Rothe, Vega, Torres Campos Soler, & Molina Pazos, 2005;Rothe, 2005;Smith-Osborne & Selby, 2010), as well as to contribute to the development of communication skills, emotional awareness and regulation, reduce anxiety, and provide opportunities for experiencing authentic relationships (Bizub, et al., 2003;Carlsson, Nilsson-Ranta, & Traeen, 2014;Karol, 2007). Even though not all studies point in the same positive direction (Ewing, MacDonald, Taylor, & Bowers, 2007;Greenwald, 2001), there is reason to explore how EASW may be used in the treatment of different patient ...

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“…Despite a lack of acknowledgement of animals in studies of therapeutic spaces, there is a wide body of literature (much of it admittedly outside of geographical scholarship) which has catalogued the health benefits which nonhumans can effect for humans, leading Beck and Katcher (2003) (Berget and Braastad 2008). Human-animal interaction has been shown to have a range of positive influences on varying groups of humans: reduced autistic symptoms, improved self-esteem, reduced loneliness and increased interaction in social situations to more physiological changes such as improved motor skills, reduced anxiety and reduced blood pressure (Odendaal 2000;Urbanik 2012).…”

Section: Therapeutic Spacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Therapeutic landscapes and non-human animals: the roles and contested positions of animals within care farming assemblages

Gorman

2016

Social & Cultural Geography

103

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The concept of therapeutic landscapes has been used as a way to critically understand how health and wellbeing are related to place. However, traditional discourses on therapeutic landscapes have been constructed from an anthropocentric perspective, completely ignoring and silencing the agency and experiences of non-humans. Building on the idea of therapeutic spaces as assemblages, I highlight the heterogeneity of elements that come together to produce therapeutic space. Mobilising empirical research undertaken in spaces involved in the practice of 'care farming', I demonstrate how non-human presence actively creates and facilitates a therapeutic engagement with place. However, with this recognition of the non-human in therapeutic spaces, there is a need to discuss animals' contested positions, and question the ways in which being part of these assemblages impacts animals; for whom are these landscapes therapeutic? Thus, this article advocates a critical understanding of the role of non-human animals as both co-constituents and co-participants of therapeutic spaces, moving from framing therapeutic spaces -and the animals within them -purely in relation to human needs and desires.

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Future Directions in Human-Animal Bond Research

Cited by 193 publications

References 54 publications

The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Using a Therapy Dog in Mindfulness Training

The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Using a Therapy Dog in Mindfulness Training

Mentalizing and Emotional Labor Facilitate Equine-Assisted Social Work with Self-harming Adolescents

Therapeutic landscapes and non-human animals: the roles and contested positions of animals within care farming assemblages

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