Paediatric Psychology Bedford Hospital, Riverbank Ward, Bedford Hospital, MK42 9DJ, UK.
Doctorate Programme in Clinical Psychology, Life and Medical Sciences, Health Research Building, College Lane Campus, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, UK.
Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2022 May;47:101564. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101564. Epub 2022 Feb 23.
The therapeutic benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) are well-documented and AAT research often involves dogs. Despite growing research into the therapeutic value of therapy dogs' visitation within health and psychiatric contexts, research specifically into the integration of dogs into psychological therapies is limited. Current Dog Assisted Psychological Therapy (DAPT) research is novel and limited. DAPT research predominantly focuses on therapist perspectives and use quantitative or case study methodologies. Research into adults' experience of DAPT is limited. Therefore, this research explored the experiences of adults receiving DAPT, who self-identified as experiencing mental health difficulties. Specific aims were to gain a broad insight into the experienced opportunities, challenges and factors impacting participants' experience of therapy, to help inform the clinical implications of DAPT. Qualitative methodology was used by conducting semi-structured interviews with six participants sharing their experiences of DAPT. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) enabled exploration of important issues regarding participants' experiences. Five themes emerged: 1) Relationship with dog(s); 2) Providing a safe therapeutic atmosphere; 3) Distraction; 4) Facilitating personal insights; and 5) Concern for the dog's wellbeing. Relationships between the themes are illustrated, and the theoretical relevance to psychological models and clinical applications are discussed. This research demonstrated that, where clinically and ethically appropriate, DAPT can provide therapeutic opportunities to facilitate psychological therapies. The therapist's skills in managing interactions and potential distraction, the client's prior experiences of dogs and the dog's wellbeing are all important considerations to manage some of the identified challenges within DAPT. Further research is needed to inform practice guidelines, specifically in terms of which psychological models and patient groups DAPT might be best suited to, and further exploration of DAPT practice within different clinical and cultural populations.
动物辅助疗法（AAT）的治疗益处已得到充分证明，AAT 研究通常涉及狗。尽管越来越多的研究关注治疗犬在健康和精神科环境中的治疗价值，但专门研究将狗纳入心理治疗的研究有限。目前的犬辅助心理治疗（DAPT）研究是新颖且有限的。DAPT 研究主要侧重于治疗师的观点，并采用定量或案例研究方法。对成年人接受 DAPT 的体验的研究有限。因此，这项研究探讨了自我认同为患有心理健康问题的成年人接受 DAPT 的体验。具体目标是广泛了解参与者在治疗中经历的机会、挑战和影响因素，以帮助为 DAPT 的临床意义提供信息。通过对六名参与者进行半结构化访谈，采用定性方法来了解他们接受 DAPT 的经验。解释现象学分析（IPA）使人们能够探讨有关参与者体验的重要问题。出现了五个主题：1）与狗的关系；2）提供安全的治疗氛围；3）分心；4）促进个人见解；5）关心狗的福利。说明了主题之间的关系，并讨论了它们与心理模型和临床应用的理论相关性。这项研究表明，在临床和伦理上适当的情况下，DAPT 可以为促进心理治疗提供治疗机会。治疗师管理互动和潜在分心的技巧、客户以前对狗的经验以及狗的福利都是管理 DAPT 中一些已确定挑战的重要考虑因素。需要进一步的研究来为实践指南提供信息，特别是在 DAPT 最适合哪些心理模型和患者群体方面，以及在不同的临床和文化人群中进一步探索 DAPT 实践。
