Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Aug 7:6:1121.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01121. eCollection 2015.

Animal-Assisted Intervention for trauma: a systematic literature review

Marguerite E O'Haire  1 , Noémie A Guérin  1 , Alison C Kirkham  1
Affiliations
Review

Animal-Assisted Intervention for trauma: a systematic literature review

Marguerite E O'Haire et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Animals have a long history of inclusion in psychiatric treatment. There has been a recent growth in the empirical study of this practice, known as Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI). We conducted a systematic review of the empirical literature on AAI for trauma, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ten studies qualified for inclusion, including six peer-reviewed journal articles and four unpublished theses. Participants were predominantly survivors of child abuse, in addition to military veterans. The presentation of AAI was highly variable across the studies. The most common animal species were dogs and horses. The most prevalent outcomes were reduced depression, PTSD symptoms, and anxiety. There was a low level of methodological rigor in most studies, indicating the preliminary nature of this area of investigation. We conclude that AAI may provide promise as a complementary treatment option for trauma, but that further research is essential to establish feasibility, efficacy, and manualizable protocols.

Keywords: Animal-assisted Intervention; animal-assisted therapy; child abuse; human-animal interaction; posttraumatic stress disorder; trauma; veteran.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study selection process. HAI, human animal interaction; AAI, animal-assisted intervention; PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
    1. Balluerka N., Muela A., Amiano N., Caldentey M. A. (2014). Influence of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) on the attachment representations of youth in residential care. Child. Youth Serv. Rev. 42, 103–109. 10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.04.007 - DOI
    1. Banks M. R., Banks W. A. (2002). The effects of animal-assisted therapy on loneliness in an elderly population in long-term care facilities. J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 57, M428–M432. 10.1093/gerona/57.7.M428 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Barker S. B., Pandurangi A. K., Best A. M. (2003). Effects of animal-assisted therapy on patients' anxiety, fear, and depression before ECT. J. ECT 19, 38–44. 10.1097/00124509-200303000-00008 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Becker C. B., Zayfert C., Anderson E. (2004). A survey of psychologists' attitudes towards and utilization of exposure therapy for PTSD. Behav. Res. Ther. 42, 277–292. 10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00138-4 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources