Handbook on Animal- Assisted Therapy

1. Understanding Our Kinship with Animals: Input for Health Care Professionals Interested in the Human–Animal Bond
2. Animal-Assisted Interventions in Historical Perspective
3. Forward Thinking: The Evolving Field of Human–Animal Interactions
4. Influence of Cultural and Religious Factors on Attitudes toward Animals
5. Animal Therapy on the Community Level: The Impact of Pets on Social Capital
6. Recruiting Psychosocial Health Effects of Animals for Families and Communities: Transition to Practice
7. The Animal−Human Bond: Health and Wellness
8. What’s Love Got to Do with It? Selecting Animals for Animal-Assisted Mental Health Interventions
9. Understanding the Other End of the Leash: What Therapists Need to Understand about Their Co-therapists
10. The Role of the Equine in Animal-Assisted Interactions
11. Incorporating Animal-Assisted Interventions into Psychotherapy: Guidelines and Suggestions for Therapists
12. Application of Animal-Assisted Interventions in Professional Settings: An Overview of Alternatives
13. Animals in the Lives of Children
14. Loss of a Therapy Animal: Assessment and Healing
15. Our Ethical and Moral Responsibility: Ensuring the Welfare of Therapy Animals
16. Methodological Standards and Strategies for Establishing the Evidence Base of Animal-Assisted Therapies
17. A Glimpse at the Future of Animal-Assisted Interventions: Selected Commentaries

In the 15 years since the first edition of Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy published, the field has changed considerably.  The fourth edition of the Handbook highlights advances in the field, with 11 new chapters and over 40% new material.  In reading this book, therapists will discover the benefits of incorporating animal-assisted therapy (AAT) into their practices, best practices in animal-assisted intervention, how to design and implement animal-assisted interventions, and the efficacy of AAT with different disorders and patient populations.  Coverage includes the use of AAT with children, the elderly, those receiving palliative care, as well as people with chronic disorders, AIDS, trauma, and autistic spectrum disorders.  Additional chapters cover techniques for working with families, in juvenile and criminal justice systems, and in colleges and universities. Contains 50% new material, including substantial updates and seven new chapters Includes guidelines and best practices for using animals as therapeutic companions Addresses specific types of patients and environmental situations Includes AAT working with cats, dogs, birds, and horses Discusses the "why" to use animals in therapy as well as the "how" Covers the use of animal-assisted therapy to treat different disorders