Unleashing compassionate care

Canine-assisted intervention as a promising harm reduction approach to prisonization in Canada and its relevance to forensic psychiatry

Dados Bibliográficos

ID15519759
AutoresMaryellen Gibson (0000-0002-9408-0720, University of Saskatchewan, autor correspondente), Colleen Anne Dell (0000-0003-4216-1606, University of Saskatchewan), Darlene Chalmers (0000-0003-2429-8801, University of Regina), Grace Rath, G K Rath (University of Saskatchewan), Mansfield Mela (0000-0002-8393-2983, University of Saskatchewan)
Ano2023
Volume14
Páginas1219096-1219096
Data de publicação2023-08-03
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
EditoraFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1219096
PMID37599871
OpenAlexW4385548791
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas61

In recent years, there has been a global advancement in the offering of canine-assisted interventions (CAI) in prisons. However, these programs have focused primarily on the benefits to the dogs involved and not on the impact on the participants. The authors of this perspective study have been running a CAI program with therapy dogs, called PAWSitive Support, in a Canadian federal prison since 2016. Thoughts from the program facilitators and interviews with prison staff indicate that the program, and specifically the therapy dogs, provides a unique and integrated source of comfort, support, and love for participants. These benefits are consistent with those seen in CAI programs outside of prisons. Unique to the prison setting appears to be an improvement in participant-staff relations. The therapy dogs have helped participants to experience comfort and consequently express their emotions. This seems to contribute to their recognition of support within the prison system and specifically developing trust with staff. Additionally, the dogs have helped to create an experience of the feeling of love within the prison, interpreted as the feeling of being cared for, which is rare for this population. The authors suggest that the integration of a therapy dog intervention in prison could be a novel harm reduction strategy to address issues related to prisonization and associated mental health concerns, including substance use. This consideration can offer unique insight into the field of forensic psychiatry about providing compassionate care to patients

Criminology · Feeling · Harm reduction · Intervention (counseling · Mental health · Political science · Population · Prison · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Public health · Relevance (law · Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology