Defining animal assisted therapy

For those of us who have been exposed to animals, we know the impact they have had on our lives. However can the same sense of companionship, unconditional love, and the ability to change ones mood be transferred into therapy?

It can be quite a confusing topic, determining the difference between therapy dogs, assistance dogs and animal assisted therapy. After asking a number of people it seems the general consensus is people associate the above three topics to dogs which help individuals perform a task which they wouldn't be capable of achieving. This isn't necessarily wrong, however there are distinctive deferences between the three. 

Pet therapy
This is therapy where personal pets who are trained to bring smiles, joy and therapeutic benefits to those in need. 

Here is a link for a video that shows pet therapy in a children's hospital Pet Therapy

Assistance Dogs 

This is any dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. Assistance dogs aid people with disabilities in their every day life

For example: Guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility dogs, and epilepsy assist dogs. 

Here is a link to the New Zealand Assistance dog trust Website

Here is a great example of what these amazing dogs can do Tribute to an Assistance Dog

Animal Assisted Therapy(AAT) 

Is a goal directed intervention in which an animal is incorporated as an integral part of the clinical health care treatment process (Fine, 2006). The aim of AAT is to improve a patients mental, physical, social, and emotional functioning while utilizing the animal as a therapeutic tool (Fine, 2006). 

Types of animals used:

*Dogs
*Cats
*Rabbits
*Horses
*Birds
*Dophins

Here is a great example of AAT Payton the wonder dog

I hope this helps to explain the deference between the three therapies. 
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 Reference List 

Fine, A.H. (2010) (Ed.). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Theoretical foundation guidelines for practice. USA: Academic Press.