How Does Therapy Animals Help With Drug Addictions

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How Animals Tin can Assist Patients in Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment

Butler Eye for Enquiry | July ii, 2016

Download the Animal-Assisted Therapy for Substance Utilize Disorders Research Update.

Treating Substance Use Disorders With Beast-Assisted Therapy

Service animals have played a significant role in mod health care practices, and therapy animals accept begun to sally equally a popular addition to conventional psychotherapy for mental and behavioral health handling. While animate being-assisted therapy (AAT) is generally well regarded amid patients, scientists take long been interested in its impact on patient well-being and outcomes post-obit treatment for a variety of atmospheric condition, including treatment for substance apply disorders.

AAT is not an independent modality but is instead a therapeutic technique that is used alongside an established bear witness-based do in order to maximize the benefits of treatment.¹ Creature-assisted therapy offers a vast assortment of applications to meet patient needs for a diversity of conditions—they include equine/riding therapy to aid with rest and minimizing aggression, using ascertainment and identification of animals as part of cognitive rehabilitation, and training service animals to assistance patients with specific tasks in their daily routines.¹

For psychotherapy applications, including treatment sessions for substance employ disorders (SUDs), a trained therapy creature is generally included in individual and group therapy sessions, and patients are able to collaborate with the animal as the session is conducted.^{1, 2} The inclusion of brute-assisted therapy with bear witness-based practices has had marked success with a number of populations in improving outcomes amid patients. Studies have found that AAT is significantly constructive with developed substance utilise disorder patients in residential addiction treatment programs,² individuals mandated to substance abuse treatment as part of the criminal justice arrangement,³ and adolescents/immature adults in inpatient and twenty-four hour period treatment settings.⁴

How Does Animate being-Assisted Therapy Amend Outcomes?

The inclusion of therapy animals in evidence-based handling practices provides a number of therapeutic benefits that explain its success in improving patient outcomes. In treatment for substance use disorders, therapy animals improve therapeutic alliance and general regard for the treatment environs, in addition to reducing patient feet almost receiving treatment, both of which have been found to increase patient adherence to their recommended treatment plan.

Differences in patient-reported therapeutic alliance (every bit measured by the HAQ-II) for patients who completed sessions with a therapy animal (experimental group) and without a therapy animal (control group)

^{Source: Wesley, Minatrea, & Watson (2009).}

Therapeutic alliance refers to the quality of the interpersonal relationship formed between a patient and therapist, and it has been shown in several studies to significantly impact the likelihood of sobriety post-obit an substance utilise disorder treatment intervention, as patients are much more likely to consummate their habit treatment programme equally recommended when they share positive therapeutic alliance with the therapist.ⁱⁱ Therapeutic alliance is a complex aspect of therapy and includes various elements, including a shared understanding of the goals and activities for each session and the emotional bond betwixt the patient and therapist.^v The strongest predictor of the quality of therapeutic alliance is the patient's level of motivation at admission,⁵ although therapeutic alliance can also be significantly impacted by demographic and personality characteristics of the patient and therapist, as well as the level of similarity between patients' and therapists' backgrounds and attitudes.^{two, vi} The inclusion of therapy animals during sessions often creates a platform for initial exact advice between patient and therapist regarding shared positive attitudes near the animal, which tin can advance the development of a positive interpersonal relationship and better therapeutic alliance in early sessions.² Research has also found that patients tend to trust therapy animals significantly sooner than therapists in a new treatment environment, and therapists are trusted sooner as a result of their amalgamation with the therapy animal.^seven

Exterior of the benefits to the patient-therapist relationship, creature-assisted therapy offers a number of benefits directly to patients. The feet and feelings of discomfort associated with the therapeutic environment can negatively affect the outcomes of substance use disorder treatment, as feet has been plant to correlate significantly with patient relapse.^viii Therapy animals have been found to significantly reduce patients' physiological symptoms of anxiety during sessions.^{ix, 10} Fauna-assisted therapy too provides the opportunity for the utilise of therapeutic affect for reducing patient feet and distress. Therapists are generally unable to utilize physical contact with the patient equally an opportunity to provide back up or reassurance, equally it tin can hands be perceived as inappropriate; still, patients experiencing anxiety or distress may benefit a dandy deal from the nurturing feeling gained from gentle contact.⁷ Therapy animals provide a patient initiated opportunity for physical contact in the form of petting or even hugging the animal, which provides the therapeutic benefit of bear upon without the threat of discomfort.^seven

Best Practices for Using Animal-Assisted Therapy

While creature-assisted therapy provides a multitude of benefits for patients receiving handling for substance use disorders, it is not universally appropriate for all patients, handling settings, or therapeutic situations. A practitioner who is because the employ of AAT must be able to follow all-time practices in doing so. In her handbook, Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counseling (2005), Cynthia Yard. Chandler outlines v critical AAT competencies for counselors: (1) orchestrating a therapy animal to enact appropriate behaviors and comply with appropriate commands; (2) evaluating a facility or counseling environs for ceremoniousness of creature-assisted therapy; (iii) networking with facility and programme staff regarding the intent and activities of therapy animals working in a facility; (four) following facility and program policies and procedures regarding the practise of AAT and establish policies and procedures where none be; and (5) evaluating client appropriateness for participation in animate being-assisted therapy.^seven While it is expected that therapy animals are well trained, the counselor is responsible for ensuring that the animal maintains proper beliefs, while also watching out for patient and animal safety and well-being.^{1, seven} Similarly, earlier initiating creature-assisted therapy, the counselor must appraise the appropriateness of the patient for AAT sessions; patients with creature phobias, highly aggressive patients, and patients with allergies may be threatened by, or pose a threat to, the therapy animal.⁷

Summary

For many people, the interaction with a therapy animal while undergoing treatment for substance use disorders tin transform the therapeutic environs in a positive way, improve rapport with counselors, reduce feet, and increase the odds of a successful recovery from addiction once treatment is completed. Practitioners may discover that the inclusion of beast-assisted therapy to existing prove-based practices may exist a welcome improvement to many patients' treatment plans, although it is critical that AAT core competencies and best practices are observed in order to ensure a prophylactic and positive experience for all.

Download the Animal-Assisted Therapy for Substance Use Disorders Inquiry Update.

Source: https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/education/bcr/addiction-research/animal-assisted-therapy-addiction-ru-716

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