Animal Assisted Therapy: It’s Implications among Disorders, for Thera­peutic Practice, and in Health and Well-being

Till the time one has not loved an animal,a part of one’s soul remains unborn.Animal Assisted Therapy can be used in amalgamation with other forms of therapy.The animal becomes an assimilation of the therapeutic plan with AAT.Many psychological disorders have been shown to react well to Animal-Assisted Therapy(AAT).The article is a concise literature review on Animal Assisted Therapy of database available from the studies that were integrated and provided a general understanding of the perceived benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy and includes topics that are categorised as an Introduction to Animal Assisted Therapy:how it can help people with disorders,it’s utilisation in therapeutic practice and its relation to our health and well-being.Papers were considered eligible if they satisfied the following pre-determined criteria:(1)Talked about Animal Assisted Therapy in context to well-being of an individual,(2)Talked about implications of Animal Assisted Therapy in context to disorders and(3)Showed benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy in counselling.This paper further provides an overall review of Animal Assisted Therapy.Relevant data was summarized and collated to make a narrative account of the findings that animal in the therapy would not make it more difficult,but rather make it easier,the therapist be aware of any animal-related allergies when employing animals as adjuncts and animals can help have a better emotional and physical healing experience by the patient.

Effects of equine-assisted interventions on older adults’health:A systematic review

Objective:Equine-assisted interventions(EAI)can improve a variety of health problems in older adults and thus promote their well-being.This systematic review aimed to synthesize studies on EAI to understand better their effects on the health of older adults.Method:A systematic search guided by the PRISMA 2020 approach was performed on specific databases:Medline(PubMed),EMBASE,PsycINFO,and Cochrane Library.Peer-reviewed articles published in the English language from inception to June 2022 were retrieved.Methodological quality was established using the modified version of the Downs and Black checklist.Results:A total of 244 studies were retrieved,and 13 eligible studies were finally included.Three health domains were investigated:physical(balance,gait,and muscular strength),psychological(quality of life and cognitive assessment),and physiological(hormonal measures,cerebral and muscular activity).Among the eight studies investigating the physical dimension,four studies highlighted a positive effect of EAI on balance,four for gait,and three for strength.Regarding the three studies investigating the psychological dimension,two studies showed a positive effect of EAI on quality of life.Lastly,the four studies investigating the physiological dimensions all demonstrated a positive effect of EAI on hormonal measures and cerebral and muscular activity.Conclusion:Nevertheless,this systematic review provides promising findings regarding the positive effects of EAI on physical,psychological,and physiological health in older adults.Research on EAI should therefore be pursued rigorously to promote this non-pharmacological intervention in an older adult population.