(Sept. 14, 2017) Atlantic General Hospital in partnership with Pets on Wheels of Delmarva is now providing animal assisted therapy to patients who request it as part of an integrative therapies initiative within the hospital and health system.
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. It is a growing field that uses dogs or other animals to help people recover from or better cope with health problems, such as heart disease, cancer and mental health disorders.
AAT uses trained animals to enhance an individual’s physical, emotional and social well-being, thus improving self-esteem, reducing anxiety and facilitating healing.
Research has shown that animals have a calming effect, reducing blood pressure and anxiety. Animals tend to make people less lonely and bring out positive social characteristics. Many hospitals and nursing homes use AAT programs to help reduce feelings of depression and isolation in their patients as well as stimulate mental activity through interaction with the animal.
Animals provide an opportunity for owners to cultivate their capacity to love, which is a basic human need essential for mental health and emotional well-being. One of the most fundamental advantages of animal assisted therapy over other therapeutic modalities is that it provides the patient a much needed opportunity to give affection as well as receive it. It is this reciprocity – rare among medical therapies – that make animal assisted therapy a unique and valuable route to healing.
The Atlantic General Hospital/Health System Animal Assisted Therapy program will be limited to canines only. For more information on this or any of the other integrative therapies being offered through hospital and health system partners, visit www.atlanticgeneral.org/integrativetherapy.
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. It is a growing field that uses dogs or other animals to help people recover from or better cope with health problems, such as heart disease, cancer and mental health disorders.
AAT uses trained animals to enhance an individual’s physical, emotional and social well-being, thus improving self-esteem, reducing anxiety and facilitating healing.
Research has shown that animals have a calming effect, reducing blood pressure and anxiety. Animals tend to make people less lonely and bring out positive social characteristics. Many hospitals and nursing homes use AAT programs to help reduce feelings of depression and isolation in their patients as well as stimulate mental activity through interaction with the animal.
Animals provide an opportunity for owners to cultivate their capacity to love, which is a basic human need essential for mental health and emotional well-being. One of the most fundamental advantages of animal assisted therapy over other therapeutic modalities is that it provides the patient a much needed opportunity to give affection as well as receive it. It is this reciprocity – rare among medical therapies – that make animal assisted therapy a unique and valuable route to healing.
The Atlantic General Hospital/Health System Animal Assisted Therapy program will be limited to canines only. For more information on this or any of the other integrative therapies being offered through hospital and health system partners, visit www.atlanticgeneral.org/integrativetherapy.