More than Just a Break from Treatment: How Substance Use Disorder Patients Experience the Stable Environment in Horse-Assisted Therapy

Kern-Godal, Ann; Brenna, Ida Halvorsen; Arnevik, Espen Ajo; Ravndal, Edle

doi:10.4137/sart.s40475

Cited by 17 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…mechanisms. Indeed, the human-animal relationship improves both the perceived social support [ 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ] and the learning of active coping strategies [ 75 , 76 ], which are protective factors against psychological distress whose well-known related outcomes are anxiety and depression [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. Moreover, the SCL-90-R Global Severity Index confirmed a significant positive change in the psychological distress level of inmates, which could take advantage from the D.A.T.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Efficacy of Dog Assisted Therapy in Detained Drug Users: A Pilot Study in an Italian Attenuated Custody Institute

Contalbrigo

Santis

Toson

et al. 2017

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drug addiction is a major care and safety challenge in prison context. Nowadays, rehabilitation and specific therapeutic programs are suggested to improve health and well-being of inmates during their detention time and to reduce substance abuse relapse after release from prison. Among these programs, several studies reported the benefits for inmates coming from animal assisted interventions. In this pilot controlled study, we investigated the efficacy of a dog assisted therapy program addressed to 22 drug addicted male inmates housed in an attenuated custody institute in Italy. The study lasted six months, the treated group (12 inmates) was involved once a week for one hour in 20 dog assisted therapy sessions, whereas the control group (10 inmates) followed the standard rehabilitation program. One week before the beginning and one week after the end of the sessions, all inmates involved were submitted to symptom checklist-90-revised and Kennedy axis V. Inmates involved in the dog assisted therapy sessions significantly improved their social skills, reducing craving, anxiety and depression symptoms compared to the control group. Despite the limitation due to the small number of inmates enrolled and to the absence of follow up, we found these results encouraging to the use of dog assisted therapy as co-therapy in drug addicted inmates rehabilitation programs, and we claim the need of more extensive study on this subject.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Efficacy of Dog Assisted Therapy in Detained Drug Users: A Pilot Study in an Italian Attenuated Custody Institute

Contalbrigo

Santis

Toson

et al. 2017

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Range of ecotherapeutic methods and directions is quite wide and varied. Among the wellknown methods of eco-therapy that are effectively used to increase adaptive potential and reduce the stressful environmental impact on the individual, we can distinguish follow: -"wilderness therapy" or "wilderness experience" (Dufrechou, 2002;Grady, 2009;Greenway, 2009;Harper, 1995;Schneider, 2009); -"horticultural therapy" (Clinebell, 1996;Kopytin, 2016;Messer Dehl, 2009), "environmental restoration" (Watkins, 2009); -"animal assisted therapy", in particular, "Equine-assisted learning" or "Horse-assisted therapy" (Garcia, 2010;Hauge et al, 2015;Ho et al, 2017;Kern-Godal, Arnevik, 2016;Lopukhova, 2017); -methods of creative (expressive) ecotherapy or "eco-art-therapy", using "environmental creative activity" (Courtney, Mills, 2016;Kopytin, Rugh, 2016;Montgomery, Courtney, 2015;Peterson, 2015;Van der Riet et al, 2014). The wide application of these eco-therapeutic methods and techniques in the technogenic conditions of our life shows high efficiency for achieving mental health.…”

Section: Environmental Approach To Person Psychotherapy and Psycho-comentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being: Development of Environmental Approach in Psychology and Education

Lopukhova¹

2018

Ponte

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The article analyses the development of environmental approach to explore personality's wellbeing, health and happiness systems in psychology and education. Revision of one hundred sources about the environmental approach allowed us to reveal the main trends in the development of theoretical and applied areas in psychology, psychotherapy and education. Different viewpoints on interaction mechanisms in the person-environment system in the article were examined. They are congruence theories of person-environment interaction (Kahana, 1982), "Dynamic features and person-environmental resources" conception of Moos (1991), "Four-front approach" of Wright and Lopez (2002) and "Engagement model of person-environment interaction" of Neufeld et al. (2006). The current state of the environmental approach in applied areas of psychology and education focuses on the conditions, which should provide personality's harmonious development, and allow removing or minimization stress factors that violate personal well-being. These conditions, in general, presuppose an orientation toward the natural environment as a resource for the human psyche as well as the active inclusion of a person in the care of the environment and formation of ecological consciousness. The review of inter-level representations current state interactions in the "person-environment" system covers the fields of "intercultural psychology", "geographical psychology", "ecological psychology" and "environmental psychotherapy". In conclusion, modern person-environment system representation was shown. It contributes preservation and restoration to personality's well-being and mental health system, assumes a person position as an active subject of interaction with environment. It is important to perceive nature as a harmony and health source for modern person who lives mostly in built environment and to develop ecological consciousness that means to take responsibility for the environment.

show abstract

“…Since 2011, our group has undertaken a series of parallel research projects to investigate the effects of integrating HAT into the standard treatment of patients with SUDs and comorbidities [19,43,44]. We designed a non-randomized intention-to-treat study enrolling 108 patients voluntarily upon referral by their treating clinician and performed univariate and multivariate analyses to compare those receiving treatment as usual (TAU; n = 43) with those receiving HAT in addition to TAU (HAT; n = 65) [19].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Complementary horse-assisted therapy for substance use disorders: a randomized controlled trial

Gatti

Walderhaug

Kern-Godal

et al. 2020

Addict Sci Clin Pract

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Treatment completion is the greatest challenge for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs). A previous investigation showed that complementary horse-assisted therapy (cHAT) was associated with higher retention in treatment and completion than standard treatment alone. This randomized controlled trial further explored the benefits of cHAT for patients with SUDs. Methods: Fifty patients in residential SUD treatment at the Department of Addiction Treatment, Oslo University Hospital, were randomly allocated to either cHAT (cHAT group) or treatment as usual alone (TAU-only group). The primary end-point was treatment completion. Secondary end-points were dropout, transfer to another treatment, and time in treatment. Results: The multinomial logistic regression analysis found no statistically significant association between intervention (cHAT) and treatment outcome (completion, dropout, transferred) among the 37 participants who were ultimately recruited to the study. Some unforeseen challenges were encountered in the study: a high number of subjects transferred to another treatment, variable attendance at cHAT sessions, and long temporary exits. Nevertheless, 44% of participants in the cHAT group completed their treatment, compared with 32% in the TAU-only group; this observation encourages further investigation in a larger sample. Conclusions: Though no association was identified between cHAT and treatment retention or completion, our study may have been underpowered. Further work in a larger clinical population is needed; observational studies with repeated measures may also be useful for investigating whether cHAT increases retention in treatment or rates of completion, two important factors for successful SUD treatment.

show abstract

More than Just a Break from Treatment: How Substance Use Disorder Patients Experience the Stable Environment in Horse-Assisted Therapy

Cited by 17 publications

References 54 publications

The Efficacy of Dog Assisted Therapy in Detained Drug Users: A Pilot Study in an Italian Attenuated Custody Institute

The Efficacy of Dog Assisted Therapy in Detained Drug Users: A Pilot Study in an Italian Attenuated Custody Institute

Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being: Development of Environmental Approach in Psychology and Education

Complementary horse-assisted therapy for substance use disorders: a randomized controlled trial

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About