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Conceptual Framework for Animal Assisted Therapy

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Abstract

Animal-assisted Therapy (A-AT) is becoming a popular therapeutic treatment for both children and adults. The author has used A-AT in a school setting with students with emotional disturbances. A review of the literature regarding A-AT reveals a lack of a unified theoretical framework. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that incorporates a physiological, psychological, and cognitive model to depict the functional deficits that challenge students with emotional disturbances. Attachment Theory is then used to describe why A-AT may be effective in improving the socio-emotional and behavioral functioning of students with emotional disturbances.

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Correspondence to Tracy S. Geist.

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Geist, T.S. Conceptual Framework for Animal Assisted Therapy. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 28, 243–256 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-011-0231-3

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