Animal-assisted therapy for psychiatric patients Free Essay Example, 3750 words

Nancy Edwards and Alan Beck worked together in a study called Animal-Assisted Therapy and Nutrition in Alzheimer’s disease. In their study they had a slightly different approach to the extent to which animals can benefit patients. Although Alzheimer’s is a mental disease, Edwards and Beck used AAT to establish whether or not the nutrition of patients could improve. For the first two weeks of their study they took documentation of results daily. For the next six weeks they checked the status of their patients weekly. At the end of the eight-week period, Edwards and Beck found that the nutrition of their patients had improved and fewer dietary supplements were needed in their treatment as a result of the AAT performed. Marian Banks and William Banks took AAT and applied it to their study, The Effects of Animal Assisted Therapy on Loneliness in an Elderly Population in Long-Term Care Facilities. Of the 64 residents of the facility they used, 45 residents were participants in the study. The majority of those that participated in the study were previous pet owners and it was found that the involvement of animals in their mental therapy resulted in a tremendous reduction of loneliness. We will write a custom essay sample on Animal-assisted therapy for psychiatric patients or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now As a result of their study, Banks and Banks believe that the presence of animals provided the elderly patients with the companionship they were lacking and desperately wanting. A study by Barak and others used animal-assisted therapy in the care of Schizophrenic patients over a one-year period. Their study, Animal Assisted Therapy for Elderly Schizophrenic Patients: A One Year Controlled Trial took their study and recorded the results over an extended period of time. Of the many AAT studies that exist, theirs is one of the most long-term. As a result, their patients were given the opportunity to form a stronger bond with the animals used in the study. They were able to build a relationship with the animals and as such, Barak documented that the involvement of animals in therapy â€Å"encouraged mobility, interpersonal contact and communication. As a whole, the animal assisted therapy provided significant improvement for all ten patients involved in the yearlong study. In an article published by Nancy Monson, she studies the positive effects animals have on humans both psychologically and physiologically. In her studies she has traced the history of animals as a service to humans from the well-know seeing eye dogs to the lesser known AAT animals used in an effort to enhance the level of health of humans.