Conceptual Framework for Animal Assisted Therapy

Animal-assisted Therapy (A-AT) is becoming a popular therapeutic treatment for both children and adults. The author has used A-AT in a school setting with students with emotional disturbances. A review of the literature regarding A-AT reveals a lack of a unified theoretical framework. This paper pro...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child & adolescent social work journal 2011-06, Vol.28 (3), p.243-256
Main Author: Geist, Tracy S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult Children
Animals
Attachment
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Children
Clinical Psychology
Cognition
Educational Environment
Educational Needs
Emotional disorders
Individualized Education Programs
Individualized Instruction
Personality and Social Psychology
Psychology
Schools
Sociology
Students
Teaching Methods
Therapy
Young Children
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Animal-assisted Therapy (A-AT) is becoming a popular therapeutic treatment for both children and adults. The author has used A-AT in a school setting with students with emotional disturbances. A review of the literature regarding A-AT reveals a lack of a unified theoretical framework. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that incorporates a physiological, psychological, and cognitive model to depict the functional deficits that challenge students with emotional disturbances. Attachment Theory is then used to describe why A-AT may be effective in improving the socio-emotional and behavioral functioning of students with emotional disturbances.
ISSN:0738-0151
1573-2797
DOI:10.1007/s10560-011-0231-3