Dogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting

Although the benefits of animal assisted therapy for people are well established, the ethical considerations for the welfare and safety of the non-human animals involved are not. Without an accrediting body responsible for creating and overseeing national standards, therapy animal organizations are...

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Autores principales:	Kimberly Collica-Cox, George J. Day
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	animal-assisted therapy corrections programs parenting ethics non-human animal welfare and protection Social Sciences H
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/52999c5d30d54c1480e8989527394a38
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:52999c5d30d54c1480e8989527394a382021-11-25T18:59:49ZDogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting10.3390/socsci101104322076-0760https://doaj.org/article/52999c5d30d54c1480e8989527394a382021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/11/432https://doaj.org/toc/2076-0760Although the benefits of animal assisted therapy for people are well established, the ethical considerations for the welfare and safety of the non-human animals involved are not. Without an accrediting body responsible for creating and overseeing national standards, therapy animal organizations are forced to create their own guidelines, creating inconsistencies within the field. Based on interviews conducted with therapy teams who have worked with Parenting, Prison & Pups (PPP), a parenting program provided to incarcerated jailed women that is integrated with the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT), this article explores the extent of ethics training offered for AAT teams and will examine how agencies and handlers promote and ensure the safety of canine partners, especially in a correctional setting. The research suggests that specific protocols put forth by individual AAT organizations, which can provide for a national model, can afford for the safety and comfortability of canine partners, especially in a corrections environment, but implies that in order to maintain consistency and increase therapy team professionalism, national standards are a necessity. Guidelines are specifically essential for mental health professionals, who lack guidelines from their own accrediting bodies’ code of ethics, and may incorporate non-human therapy partners into their work settings, without proper supervision.Kimberly Collica-CoxGeorge J. DayMDPI AGarticleanimal-assisted therapycorrectionsprogramsparentingethicsnon-human animal welfare and protectionSocial SciencesHENSocial Sciences, Vol 10, Iss 432, p 432 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	animal-assisted therapy corrections programs parenting ethics non-human animal welfare and protection Social Sciences H
spellingShingle	animal-assisted therapy corrections programs parenting ethics non-human animal welfare and protection Social Sciences H Kimberly Collica-Cox George J. Day Dogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting
description	Although the benefits of animal assisted therapy for people are well established, the ethical considerations for the welfare and safety of the non-human animals involved are not. Without an accrediting body responsible for creating and overseeing national standards, therapy animal organizations are forced to create their own guidelines, creating inconsistencies within the field. Based on interviews conducted with therapy teams who have worked with Parenting, Prison & Pups (PPP), a parenting program provided to incarcerated jailed women that is integrated with the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT), this article explores the extent of ethics training offered for AAT teams and will examine how agencies and handlers promote and ensure the safety of canine partners, especially in a correctional setting. The research suggests that specific protocols put forth by individual AAT organizations, which can provide for a national model, can afford for the safety and comfortability of canine partners, especially in a corrections environment, but implies that in order to maintain consistency and increase therapy team professionalism, national standards are a necessity. Guidelines are specifically essential for mental health professionals, who lack guidelines from their own accrediting bodies’ code of ethics, and may incorporate non-human therapy partners into their work settings, without proper supervision.
format	article
author	Kimberly Collica-Cox George J. Day
author_facet	Kimberly Collica-Cox George J. Day
author_sort	Kimberly Collica-Cox
title	Dogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting
title_short	Dogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting
title_full	Dogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting
title_fullStr	Dogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting
title_full_unstemmed	Dogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting
title_sort	dogs as therapeutic partners, not therapeutic tools: ethical considerations for aat in the correctional setting
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/52999c5d30d54c1480e8989527394a38
work_keys_str_mv	AT kimberlycollicacox dogsastherapeuticpartnersnottherapeutictoolsethicalconsiderationsforaatinthecorrectionalsetting AT georgejday dogsastherapeuticpartnersnottherapeutictoolsethicalconsiderationsforaatinthecorrectionalsetting
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Dogs as Therapeutic Partners, Not Therapeutic Tools: Ethical Considerations for AAT in the Correctional Setting

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