Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Trials. 2024 Jan 5;25(1):26. doi: 10.1186/s13063-023-07854-4.
Motivation and a therapeutic alliance are crucial for successful therapy. It is assumed that dogs can increase motivation and help support therapeutic relationships. This is one of the reasons for including dogs in psychotherapy. While the positive effects of psychotherapy with dogs have been documented over the past years, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of animal-assisted psychotherapy. This study therefore aims to investigate whether and how the presence of a dog affects motivation and the therapeutic alliance in child and adolescent psychotherapy.
The study is a randomized controlled trial assessing motivation and the therapeutic alliance during the first five sessions of psychotherapy attended by children and adolescents with different psychiatric disorders. We will recruit 150 children and adolescents and randomly assign them to one of three conditions: (a) a dog is present but not integrated in the therapeutic narrative, (b) a dog is actively integrated in the therapeutic narrative, and (c) no dog is present. The children's and adolescents' evaluations of the therapeutic alliance and of their motivation will be assessed as the primary outcomes using standardized questionnaires before and after the first five therapy sessions as well as at follow-up. Further outcomes include the therapists' evaluations of the therapeutic alliance and their motivation, treatment adherence of the children and adolescents, and treatment satisfaction of the children and adolescents, their parents, and of the therapists. Interventions are conducted by experienced therapists who regularly work with their dogs. Outcomes will be analyzed using general linear models, with the treatment group as a fixed factor and the baseline values as covariates.
This study provides information on the possible motivation and alliance-enhancing effects of integrating a dog into child and adolescent psychotherapy. This is relevant for practice, as these two components are strong predictors of therapy outcome. Moreover, the study will contribute to a better understanding of how a dog should be incorporated into psychotherapeutic settings. This can lead to a more purposeful inclusion of dogs in psychotherapy for children and adolescents.
The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05384808, on 20 May 2022.
动机和治疗联盟对于治疗的成功至关重要。人们认为狗可以提高动机，并有助于支持治疗关系。这也是将狗纳入心理治疗的原因之一。虽然近年来已经记录了狗参与心理治疗的积极效果，但对于动物辅助心理治疗的潜在机制知之甚少。因此，本研究旨在调查狗的存在是否以及如何影响儿童和青少年心理治疗中的动机和治疗联盟。
该研究是一项随机对照试验，评估了患有不同精神障碍的儿童和青少年在接受心理治疗的前五节期间的动机和治疗联盟。我们将招募 150 名儿童和青少年，并将他们随机分配到以下三个条件之一：(a) 狗在场但未纳入治疗叙述，(b) 狗积极纳入治疗叙述，(c) 无狗在场。使用标准化问卷评估儿童和青少年对治疗联盟和动机的评估，作为主要结果，在第一至五次治疗前、后以及随访时进行评估。其他结果包括治疗师对治疗联盟和动机的评估、儿童和青少年的治疗依从性以及儿童和青少年、他们的父母和治疗师的治疗满意度。干预措施由经验丰富的治疗师进行，他们定期与他们的狗一起工作。使用一般线性模型分析结果，以治疗组为固定因素，以基线值为协变量。
本研究提供了有关将狗纳入儿童和青少年心理治疗中可能增强动机和联盟的信息。这对于实践很重要，因为这两个组成部分是治疗结果的强有力预测因素。此外，该研究将有助于更好地理解如何将狗纳入心理治疗环境。这可以导致更有针对性地将狗纳入儿童和青少年的心理治疗。
该试验于 2022 年 5 月 20 日在 ClinicalTrials.gov 上注册，编号为 NCT05384808。
