Animal Assisted Intervention Essay

Animal-assisted interventions are defined as the purposeful use of animals as an aid in treating mental and physical health disorders. As previously noted animal-assisted interventions include animal-assisted activities, animal-assisted therapy, and service animal programs (Ferriero, Brigatti, Valero, Franchignoni, & Munoz, 2011). AAT is a supportive goal orientated intervention, which results from human-animal interaction (Buettner, Fitzsimmons, & Barbara, 2011). The interaction between an animal and human result in an increase neurochemicals initiating and trigger a psychosomatic effect. The strong bonding between humans and animals affect to mental, social and physical health (Clements, Benasutti, & Carmone, 2003).
AAT is a goal-directed intervention, which implies that it is prescribed by patient’s doctor and aims to achieve a particular therapeutic goal (Kruger et al., 2004). In a

All therapeutic processes should be followed by patients’ doctor, documented and evaluated by a health professional (Cirulli, Borgi, Berry, Francia, & Alleva, 2011).
Contrary to AAT animal-assisted activities (AAA) are more spontaneous, a meet-and-greet process. Animal-assisted activities are defined by the Delta Society as the integration of animals into activities to facilitate motivation, education, and recreation, encouraging casual interaction without following a specific set of criteria or goals. AAA could include volunteers and their pets visiting a nursing home to encourage positive socialization and interaction amongst residents (Kruger et al.,