2006

Animal assisted therapy (AAT) is the incorporation of pets as therapeutic agents into the counseling process. AAT utilizes the special relationship between a pet and its owner to provide services for persons in need. The therapy animal works in partnership with a human therapist to provide compassionate and stimulating therapy designed to facilitate human client recovery. AAT applications in the counseling environment are growing in popularity because increasing numbers of therapists have observed the therapeutic benefits of animal assisted interventions. The most significant contributions of AAT have been demonstrated with clients that are resistant to therapy and/or clinically dysfunctional. In these cases, therapeutic gains were made with the assistance of a therapy animal that most likely would not have been possible otherwise.