Florence Nightingale And The Benefits Of Animal Assisted Therapy

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Florence Nightingale also used what she called “animal-companion therapy” for her patients who were sick and disabled (Goddard, 2015). “Nightingale described the benefits of an animal-companion as a source of therapy to her patients. She used pets with wounded soldiers in the early 19th century and found that pets were companions in the healing process” (Chu, Liu, Sun, & Lin, 2009). Sigmund Freud has also been recognized with identifying the role of animals in therapy and stated that his dog had a “special sense.” “Freud believed the calming presence of his canine was especially useful with children and would bring his Chow Chow, “Jo-Fi,” to therapy sessions” (Fine, 2006). In psychiatric settings, animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has been effectively