South African adolescents are more likely to participate in high-risk behaviours, because they are exposed to high-risk environments that have a negative impact on them. The choices that adolescents make during this explorative life stage will influence and determine certain outcomes of their adult lives. Therefore, it is crucial to improve adolescents’ psychological well-being, as they are the future generation adults. Adolescents with behaviour problems form a unique population who do not respond effectively to traditional therapy, and researchers are continuously searching for more effective ways to reach this population. Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) is an intervention that has been proven to be effective with this population and to provide better outcomes than traditional psychotherapy. Although the value and positive effects of EAT has been proven, there is a gap in the literature concerning research on this topic, especially with regard to research conducted by means of quantitative methods. The overarching goal of this study was to evaluate and refine an EAT programme aimed at improving the psychological well-being of boys in a school of industry. This goal was attained by utilising a quantitative, experimental research design. The Solomon four-group design was applied, because it effectively controls pre-test sensitisation and provides the best control against threats to internal validity. The sample was selected from a school of industry near Bloemfontein, which provides residence to a group of adolescent boys who display behaviour problems. The 40 boys (N = 40) included in the sample were divided into two experimental groups of 10 boys each and two control groups of 10 boys each. During the course of the study, one of the boys withdrew and the sample was reduced to 39 boys. The programme was administered to the boys in the experimental groups. Before the programme commenced, one of the experimental groups and one of the control groups completed the pre-test. The psychometric instruments used were a biographical questionnaire, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Coping Orientations to the Problems Experienced Questionnaire. The boys then completed the EAT programme which consisted of eight sessions, each with its own outcomes and designed to improve subjective well-being and coping. After completion of the programme, all four groups completed the post-test consisting of the same psychometric instruments as the pre-test. The results showed that the programme significantly improved the boys’ subjective well-being. The boys’ problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and dysfunctional coping were also increased significantly. These improvements can be attributed directly to the programme, because pre-test sensitisation was controlled. The study found that the EAT programme had a significant positive effect on the boys’ subjective well-being and coping. The conclusion can be drawn that the programme significantly improved the boys’ psychological well-being. The programme was evaluated and refined, and recommendations were made for its future use. / PhD (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The aim with this research is to present children with autism an alternative method through animal assisted therapy to communicate and socialize. Since children with autism cannot be guided to mastery of full maturity by means of the ordinary education system, separate provision of highly specialized fomative and formal education is essential. Autism prevents a child from reaching out to the world and other people. Autism implies a lack of communication with others and entails a disturbed dialogue with the world. This is revealed by the strange and odd behaviour of the child with autism. The aim of this research is to use animal assited therapy to bridge the gap between numerous problems experienced by the child with autism ascribed to his inadequate affective life, inablitity to form relationships with others, his language, speech and communication problems and poor sensory integration. / Social Work / M. Diac (Play Therapy)

This dissertation employs a case study research design and reviews literature from the field of animal assisted therapy (AAT) with an emphasis on equine facilitated psychotherapy (EFP), as a possible therapeutic alternative for treating inappropriate aggressive behaviour in a young boy. The research suggests that Horse Whispering can indeed be regarded as a viable therapeutic technique when intent on breaking the aggressive behaviour cycle. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

Studiens syfte utgår ifrån hur hunden kan vara till stöd för att motivera barns lust till lärande, synliggöra skillnader mellan utbildningar, samt lyfta fram hur utbildning kring HAP ser ut för hundekipage. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats med motivationsteorier som utgångspunkt i bearbetning och analys av resultat. Den valda metoden har utgått från halvstrukturerade intervjuer som har genomförts med tre hundekipageutbildare och tre hundförare i Mellansverige. Baserat på tidigare forskning, motivationsteori och studiens resultat kan vi påvisa att hunden i prestations- och inlärningssituationer påverkar främst motivation och tro på den egna självförmågan. Både resultat och tidigare forskning påvisar dessutom att HAP kan bidra till bättre skolklimat där lärande blir till något lustfyllt. Det i sig påverkar barnets inre och yttre motivation att lära sig nya och svårare saker vilket i förlängningen leder till ökad måluppfyllelse. Vi kan även se utifrån resultatet att HAP bidrar till att barn utvecklar sina färdigheter inom kommunikation, samspel och motorik, när barnet rör sig och leker tillsammans med hunden. Med andra ord påvisas bättre arbetsförmåga och högre prestationsförmåga i närvaron av en hund.  Forskning som vi använt oss av har främst riktat sig mot skolan. Dock är vår rådande uppfattning att detta koncept är användbart också i förskolan. Utifrån resultatet kan vi se att HAP med stor sannolikhet skulle kunna bidra till att barn utvecklar sina färdigheter och förmågor inom kommunikation, samspel och motorik i förskolan. Även om förskolans undervisning inte nödvändigtvis fokuserar på att mäta kunskaper som skolan gör, så finns det utrymme att hävda att hunden kan vara till hjälp också inom ramen för förskolans lärområden.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:46:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2393.pdf: 2878771 bytes, checksum: 60edc7769d54f45410a34348a5e06355 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-19 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is used by health professionals to promote emotional, affectivity, cognitive, social and phisical development by animal-human interaction. AAT can use different animals and be indicated for several needs, as Mental Deficiency (MD). The objective of this study was to verify the effect of animals intervention (AAT) in the psychomotor development of children with MD. The used drawing was the experimental type with control groups. Twelve children ranging from 9 to 13 years of age were divided into two groups, separate in two groups at random, control group (CG) and experimental group (EG), that frequent the same specialized school institution. The established criteria for formation of the groups were: diagnosis of MD, the same economic level and do not present animals fear. The psychomotor development was evaluated by the following instruments: Motor evaluation of Rosa Neto; structured interview for survey of the participants' emotional aspects; structured interview for survey of the psychomotor and emotional aspects directed to the responsible individuals; and field diary. The procedure for the data collection was developed in the following stages: a- groups formation (experimental group-animals and professional intervention A group; and control group: 1- professional intervention without animals B group; 2- without intervention- C group); b- initial evaluation (motor evaluation and interviews with participants and responsible individuals from the three groups); cintervention with post-fact recordings (field diary) and d- final evaluation (motor revaluation and interviews with participants and responsible individuals). AAT was executed with two small dogs. The data were analyzed in a quantitative way and represented in graphs and tables. For the qualitative analysis, it was accomplished through the recordings obtained in the field diary and analysis of the answers of the interviews. The data were analyzed in an individual way and a comparison between control and experimental groups was made. It was concluded that AAT brings benefits to individuals with MD regarding the motor development, motivation and care with living beings. / A Terapia Assistida por Animais (TAA) é realizada por profissionais da área da saúde visando promover o desenvolvimento emocional/afetivo, cognitivo, social e físico através da interação homem-animal. A TAA pode ser realizada com diferentes animais e sendo indicada para necessidades variadas, como a Deficiência Mental (DM). Este estudo teve por objetivo verificar o efeito da intervenção com animais (TAA) no desenvolvimento psicomotor de crianças com DM. O delineamento utilizado foi do tipo experimental com grupo controle. Participaram deste estudo 12 crianças de 9 a 13 anos de idade, separadas em dois grupos aleatoriamente, grupo controle (GC) e grupo experimental (GE), que freqüentavam a mesma instituição escolar especializada. Os critérios estabelecidos para formação dos grupos foram: diagnóstico de DM, mesmo nível econômico e que não apresentassem medo de animais. O desenvolvimento psicomotor foi avaliado pelos instrumentos: Avaliação Motora de Rosa Neto; roteiro de entrevista estruturado para sondagem dos aspectos emocionais dos participantes; roteiro de entrevista estruturado para sondagem dos aspectos psicomotor e emocional encaminhado aos responsáveis; e diário de campo. O procedimento para a coleta de dados foi desenvolvido nas seguintes etapas: a- formação dos grupos (grupo experimental-intervenção com animais e profissional grupo A; e grupo controle: 1- intervenção com profissional e sem animais- grupo B; 2- sem intervenção- grupo C); avaliação inicial (aplicação da avaliação motora e entrevistas com participantes e responsáveis dos três grupos); c- intervenção com anotações cursivas pós-fato (diário de campo) e d- avaliação final (reaplicação da avaliação motora e entrevistas com participantes e responsáveis). A TAA foi executada com dois cães de pequeno porte. Os dados foram analisados de forma quantitativa apresentados sob a forma de gráficos, quadros e tabelas. A análise qualitativa foi realizada através dos registros cursivos obtidos no diário de campo e análise das respostas das entrevistas. Os dados foram analisados de forma individual e foi realizada comparação entre os grupos controle e experimental. Concluiu-se que a TAA traz benefícios às pessoas com DM em relação ao desenvolvimento motor, motivação e cuidado aos seres vivos.

Zootherapy is a method based on a positive interaction between animals and humans. The contact with animals has proved good in the treatment of attention and communication disorders, in ill people, in psychiatric patients, the elderly, the sensory, mentally or physically disabled people, but also in healthy individuals. The methods used are Animal Assisted Activities (AAA), Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal Assisted Education (AAE). Zootherapy in educational institutions has a positive impact on social relationships and learning, developing vocabulary, memory, emotions, it helps enhance self-reliance and it also has effect on physical condition of a child. The objective of this study was to survey the ways of zootherapy utilization in educational institutions in the České Budějovice region. The method of quantitative research was used to achieve the aims. Data were collected by the technique of participating observation, semi-standardized interview, documents analysis and photo-documentation. By the pilot research 9 facilities were chosen. The results have shown that the most frequently used animals are dogs and horses. Most often, zootherapy is carried out by attending the AAA program. The AAE method is not much used, although educational institutions that are involved. Zootherapy is predominantly practiced in people with disabilities. The most professionally developed technique is canistherapy. Zootherapy is provided on a regular basis. Funding is supported by grants, projects, subsidies, sponsors, parents. Educational institutions personnel have little knowledge of zootherapy. Legislature is executed mainly by a contract between the facility and the providing organization. The research outcomes suggest the following hypotheses: H 1: ``The only zootherapy provider in educational institutions within the České Budějovice region are the o.s. Hafík, o.s. Koníček and o.s. Arpida.`` H 2: ``Educational institutions in the České Budějovice region do not have conditions for the resident form of zootherapy.{\crqq} The thesis may serve as a resource for professionals, zootherapists, but also for the general public. All the information is arranged into the register of ways of using zootherapy in educational institutions.

This research project focused on the influence of animal-assisted play therapy on the self-esteem of adolescents with special needs. The goal of this study was to ascertain whether principles of animal-assisted play therapy from the gestalt approach would enhance the self-esteem of adolescents with special needs. In order to achieve this goal, the following objectives were set out: to create a theoretical knowledge base through a literature study and consultation with experts, to conduct an empirical study in order to obtain qualitative and quantitative data and to formulate conclusions and recommendations with regard to the use of animal-assisted play therapy with adolescents with special needs. A combination of the quantitative and qualitative approaches was utilized, and applied research was done, as the focus was on practical solutions that is suitable for practice. A research hypothesis was posed, namely: If animal-assisted therapy from the gestalt approach is used with adolescents with special needs, their self-esteem will be enhanced. Two adolescents were selected as respondents through purposive sampling as sub-type of non-probability sampling. An empirical study was conducted through the use of questionnaires and interviewing as data-collection methods. The quantitative data was gathered through the use of self-constructed questionnaires and the Psychosocial Functioning Inventory for High School Children (PFI – HIGH – C) from Perspective College. The researcher utilized the A-B-A research design to conduct a pre-test and a post-test. Qualitative data was gathered through interviewing using the combined animal-assisted and gestalt play therapy techniques Empirical data was gathered and indicated improvement in the self-esteem of both the respondents who were exposed to the play therapy techniques. The research has thus shown that the use of animal-assisted play therapy does enhance the self-esteem of adolescents with special needs, and has benefits for future practice. The hypothesis of the study is thus proven to be true. / Dissertation (MSD (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

The field of equine therapy (ET) in Canada and the USA encompasses a range of distinct approaches, such as equine-facilitated therapy, equine-assisted therapy, therapeutic riding, and hippotherapy. Due to issues like inconsistent terminology and lack of standardized practice manuals, there are gaps in the ET knowledge about how these approaches relate or differ from each other. This research reviewed 47 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles about ET approaches and applied thematic analysis to determine key themes that clarify key traits of each approach. Recognizing that children and youth are common participants in equine therapy, this research was motivated by the questions: What type of relational dynamics are modelled for children and youth in ET? How are these horse-human relationships portrayed? Which participants possess their own agency? Findings of this research provide insights about each approach of ET and highlight the therapeutic affects of interspecies relationships between humans and horses. Contradictory viewpoints about mutual agency between species are identified in language that described horses are active, intelligent subjects and/or passive, inanimate objects. This research provides insights about the different forms of ET, highlights important benefits and gaps, and invites the fields of Child and Youth Care and Animal-Assisted Therapy to critically reflect on the relational tensions of employing non-human animals in human therapy. / Graduate

This study examined scientific evidence of animal-supported work in connection with the therapeutic relationship. The study aimed to investigate whether animal-supported work has any impact on the therapeutic relationship. The study also aimed to examine in what way animal-supported work impacts the therapeutic relationship and whether the effects could be explained by relevant theories. Literature review was chosen as the method of study to fulfil the objectives of this study and data was analysed through thematic analysis. The data used in this study was found in articles through a structured search of the databases PubMed and Psycinfo. In summary, the study found that there is scientific evidence that animal-supported work does impact the therapeutic relationship. The study also found that evidence suggest that animal-supported work impacts the therapeutic relationship in many ways, most of which are positive. The study found that one viable way of explaining the effects of animal-supported work is through the neurobiological theory of oxytocin. The effects could also be explained by the developmental psychological attachment theory. The result of this study points to a need for further research of the effects of animal-supported work on the therapeutic relationship.

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