Definition
Animal-assisted interventions are professionally facilitated interactions between an unfamiliar animal and a person or group used to improve individual health or well-being. Types of interventions include animal-assisted therapy, education, and activities.
Introduction
Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are a subset of human-animal interactions, a fundamental aspect of the human experience that captures the mutual and dynamic exchanges between people and other animals. Distinguished from affiliative relationships (pets), service dogs, and emotional support animals, AAIs involve interactions facilitated by a trained professional or paraprofessional (e.g., handlers, researchers, teachers, therapists) where an unfamiliar animal serves to confer psychophysiological benefits to a person or group. Dogs are the most commonly used animals in AAIs, though many incorporate horses or other species. Interventions are diverse in delivery, environment, purpose, structure, and...
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Thayer, E.R., Stevens, J.R. (2019). Animal-Assisted Intervention. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_2057-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_2057-1
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