Dog-Assisted Therapy in Mental Health Care

A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Patients with Intellectual Disabilities

Bibliographic Data

ID16945902
AuthorsAnke Schooten (GGZ Oost Brabant, corresponding author), Nienke Peters‐Scheffer (0000-0003-4832-0241, Radboud University Nijmegen), Nienke Peters-Scheffer, Marie-José Enders-Slegers (0000-0002-2781-2952, Radboud University Nijmegen), Inge Verhagen (GGZ Oost Brabant), Robert Didden (0000-0001-5009-4269, Radboud University Nijmegen)
Year2024
Volume14
Issue3
Pages540-553
Publication date2024-02-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2174-8144 • E-ISSN: 2254-9625
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/ejihpe14030036
PMID38534897
OpenAlexW4392284607
LanguageEN
References cited48

(1) Background: Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is an experiential intervention to promote psychological, physical, and social functioning in children and adults. Only few studies have been conducted on DAT in adults with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF). The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of patients with MID-BIF undergoing DAT in a mental health care facility. (2) Method: Seven patients completed 13 to 15 sessions of DAT. Within two weeks of completing the program, they were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. The transcripts of the interviews were analysed using interpretational phenomenological analysis. In addition, the patients’ relatives and the DAT therapist were interviewed, and a focus group discussion took place with each patient’s treatment team. (3) Results: The patients’ experiences were predominantly positive. Physical contact with the dog calmed them down. The dog offered them emotional support and helped them to make contact inside and outside the therapy and the setting where they lived. The patients also liked the fact that DAT focused on the dog rather than their problems, that the therapy was experiential and using a positive approach, and that, during the therapy, they did not feel like a patient but a human being. DAT is a promising therapy for patients with MID-BIF in mental health care facilities, but more research into its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and ways to implement DAT in clinical practice is needed to make more definitive statements

Anxiety · Experiential avoidance · Experiential knowledge · Experiential learning · Intellectual disability · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Mental health · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Child and Animal Learning Development · Clinical Psychology · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Infant Health and Development · Medicine · Psychology · Occupational Therapy

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