by Jackie Hart, MD
Q: I have recently heard about pet therapy. What does it involve and is there any value in it?
A: As the owner of a very special golden retriever, Marley, your question is of great interest to me.
There are two general classifications of pet therapy:
Pet visitation refers to a policy set up by certain institutions allowing patients who are hospitalized to have their own pets come to visit.
Pet therapy involves special training and screening (of both health and behavior) of dogs who then go out to visit people who are in hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation facilities (for example, following a stroke), or are homebound due to age and/or illness.
Scientific literature suggests that pets increase self-esteem, reduce levels of stress, encourage expression of feelings, and provide sensory stimulation. According to a study conducted in Ithaca, New York, the benefits of pet therapy in nursing homes extended to the volunteers who brought the dogs in to visit. The volunteers accompanied by a pet reported feeling more connected to the nursing home residents that they visited. They began to consider themselves friends of the residents, rather than simply an extension of the nursing home staff, which was the reported self-perception of the volunteers who did not bring a dog along with them.
In the nursing home in this study, the pets seemed to break down the barrier between humans, allowing for a warmer and more real connection. Such interaction is often desperately needed by nursing home residents and probably led to a greater commitment on the part of the volunteers.
Pet therapy is being explored as a means to help people with several different specific medical conditions including spinal cord injury (e.g., paraplegia or quadraplegia) and Alzheimers disease. Rehabilitation following a spinal cord injury involves sensory stimulation, which a pet may provide in a non-threatening way. Almost invariably, people with this type of injury also need help building self-esteem, expressing feelings and emotions, and reducing levels of stress, all of which, as described above, a friendly dog can do.
Studies of pet therapy for people with Alzheimers disease show promise for reducing aggressive, agitated, and disruptive behavior; improving social interactions; improving self-care; decreasing sleep disturbances; and reducing the amount of wandering. When observed during and following visits with pets, Alzheimers patients smiled and laughed more readily, were more verbal, and were more willing to have physical contact with another person.
I suspect we will discover that pets are not only a wonderful addition to daily life but that there are many ways they may help improve treatment or recovery from illnesses. When I bring Marley to the office with me, he certainly brightens everyones day even the die-hard workaholics stop, take a breath, and get on the ground to pet him.
Q: I have recently heard about pet therapy. What does it involve and is there any value in it?
A: As the owner of a very special golden retriever, Marley, your question is of great interest to me.
There are two general classifications of pet therapy:
Pet visitation refers to a policy set up by certain institutions allowing patients who are hospitalized to have their own pets come to visit.
Pet therapy involves special training and screening (of both health and behavior) of dogs who then go out to visit people who are in hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation facilities (for example, following a stroke), or are homebound due to age and/or illness.
Scientific literature suggests that pets increase self-esteem, reduce levels of stress, encourage expression of feelings, and provide sensory stimulation. According to a study conducted in Ithaca, New York, the benefits of pet therapy in nursing homes extended to the volunteers who brought the dogs in to visit. The volunteers accompanied by a pet reported feeling more connected to the nursing home residents that they visited. They began to consider themselves friends of the residents, rather than simply an extension of the nursing home staff, which was the reported self-perception of the volunteers who did not bring a dog along with them.
In the nursing home in this study, the pets seemed to break down the barrier between humans, allowing for a warmer and more real connection. Such interaction is often desperately needed by nursing home residents and probably led to a greater commitment on the part of the volunteers.
Pet therapy is being explored as a means to help people with several different specific medical conditions including spinal cord injury (e.g., paraplegia or quadraplegia) and Alzheimers disease. Rehabilitation following a spinal cord injury involves sensory stimulation, which a pet may provide in a non-threatening way. Almost invariably, people with this type of injury also need help building self-esteem, expressing feelings and emotions, and reducing levels of stress, all of which, as described above, a friendly dog can do.
Studies of pet therapy for people with Alzheimers disease show promise for reducing aggressive, agitated, and disruptive behavior; improving social interactions; improving self-care; decreasing sleep disturbances; and reducing the amount of wandering. When observed during and following visits with pets, Alzheimers patients smiled and laughed more readily, were more verbal, and were more willing to have physical contact with another person.
I suspect we will discover that pets are not only a wonderful addition to daily life but that there are many ways they may help improve treatment or recovery from illnesses. When I bring Marley to the office with me, he certainly brightens everyones day even the die-hard workaholics stop, take a breath, and get on the ground to pet him.