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Animal Assisted Therapy A new form of therapy, AAT incorporates the use of therapy animals such as dogs, horses, dolphins, cats, and many more in treatment for certain personality disorders such as depression and anxiety, and also in treatment for childhood disorders such as Autism. AAT has come under scrutiny for the validity of the treatment programs, and the safety of the animals involved. Also it is important to note that AAT is an affective treatment (mood elevator) more so than a behavioral treatment. It is also important to note that the act of having a "pet" is different from AAT. AAT incorporates animals into therapy settings and treatment, however the animals are not to be kept or seen as a family pet. Overall though AAT has been used in many environments as a comfort for both patients and staff in stressful times and settings.

AAT and Pain management

Marcus et al. conducted a study using therapy dogs in an Outpatient Pain management clinic. Patients sat in either a waiting room, or a room with a therapy dog in it. Results demonstrated that there were significant improvements on pain, mood, and other distressful measures when patients or family members were placed in the therapy dog room. The study took place over a 2 month time period. They concluded that patients visited by these therapy dogs have a reduction in their pain rating and an improvement in their mood, with this in mind, there have been many nursing homes and hospitals that elicit the help of cats and dogs as a comfort for patients in their time of need. Patients in these scenarios report elevated mood and comfort when the animal is around. It is also thought that animals create a more positive environment for the hospital or clinic itself, with staff member also reporting elevated moods, as well as creating a more positive appearance of the clinician to the patient. Another example is Cole's 2007 study on patients who were in critical care after experiencing heart failure. The patients were visited three different times over a period of three months by either a volunteer with a therapy dog, a volunteer by themselves, or the usual care that they had been recieving. The results showed a significant decrease in the cardiopulmonary pressure, nuerohormone level, and anxiety level of those patients who received the twelve minute visit by the therapy dog. Cole sites many other resources such as Blascovich , and Shykoff where AAT has helped reduce blood pressure and stress among individuals, however these studies focus more on pet ownership as a method rather than AAT.

==Additional example for animal and nursing home Another example can be seen with the famous case of Oscar the cat and a Providence, Rhode Island nursing home. Patients and family member reported a sense of calming when the cat would enter their room. Although the cat was a sign that the patient was dying, family members were thankful for the comfort that the cat seemed to instill in their loved one. The cat would jump on the patients lap and stay with them until they passed. In

Additional information for children and AAT

Children also can receive positive benefits from Animal Assisted therapy in the class setting. Frieson (2010) conducted a study with children and therapy dogs in a class room setting and found that the animals provide a social and emotional support system for the child, with assumptions that because the animal seems non-judgmental to the child, it is perceived as comforting.

Criticisms of animal-assisted therapy

Although animal assisted therapy has been considered a new way to deal with depression, anxiety, and childhood aliments such as Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Autism there has been criticism as to the effectiveness of the process. According to Lilienfeld and Arkowitz animal-assisted therapy is better considered a temporary fix. They point to the lack of longitudinal data or research to see if there is evidence for long term improvement in patients undergoing the therapy. They then suggest that this further supports the idea that AAT is more of an affective method of therapy rather than a behavioral treatment. They also state the dangers of these therapy programs in particular the Dolphin assisted therapy. Dolphin assisted therapy has not been shown to have significant results when dealing with a child's behavior. Instead Lilienfeld suggest that again animal assisted therapy might be a short term reinforcer, not a long term one. They also suggest that studies dealing with children should look into more balanced measures, such as having one group of children in the Dolphin group and the other in a setting where they still receive positive reinforcement. It is also suggested that DAT is harmful to the dolphins themselves; by taking dolphins out of their natural environment and putting them in captivity for therapy can be hazardous to their well being. Heimlich discussed in her study of AAT's effect on severely disabled children that without proof that this type of therapy works outside a laboratory setting, assumptions can not be made that it is an effective form of therapy.