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E-BookPDF1 - PDF WatermarkE-Book
206 Seiten
Englisch
Hogrefe Publishing GmbHerschienen am01.01.20121., Aufl
The biological and psychological basis of pet therapy / animal-assisted therapy and what this means for practice 'A comprehensive, scientific foundation for human-animal therapy.' (Judith Solomon) In recent years, the ancient symbiosis between humans and their pets has entered a new phase, marked by the burgeoning clinical specialty of human-animal therapy. This approach uses the relationship between humans and their (mainly) mammalian pets to support the growth of emotion regulation, social skills, and mental health in children, adolescents, and adults. But how are humans and animals able to develop close bonds at all? What makes it possible for animals to have a therapeutic effect on humans? And how can we best use this understanding in animal-assisted therapy? In this unique book, a team of expert biologists and psychologists integrate and combine sophisticated biological and psychological knowledge to answer these questions. Together they have created a comprehensive, scientific foundation for human-animal therapy, a foundation that will facilitate the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective new interventions.mehr
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KlappentextThe biological and psychological basis of pet therapy / animal-assisted therapy and what this means for practice 'A comprehensive, scientific foundation for human-animal therapy.' (Judith Solomon) In recent years, the ancient symbiosis between humans and their pets has entered a new phase, marked by the burgeoning clinical specialty of human-animal therapy. This approach uses the relationship between humans and their (mainly) mammalian pets to support the growth of emotion regulation, social skills, and mental health in children, adolescents, and adults. But how are humans and animals able to develop close bonds at all? What makes it possible for animals to have a therapeutic effect on humans? And how can we best use this understanding in animal-assisted therapy? In this unique book, a team of expert biologists and psychologists integrate and combine sophisticated biological and psychological knowledge to answer these questions. Together they have created a comprehensive, scientific foundation for human-animal therapy, a foundation that will facilitate the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective new interventions.
Details
Weitere ISBN/GTIN9781616764425
ProduktartE-Book
EinbandartE-Book
FormatPDF
Format Hinweis1 - PDF Watermark
FormatE107
Erscheinungsjahr2012
Erscheinungsdatum01.01.2012
Auflage1., Aufl
Seiten206 Seiten
SpracheEnglisch
Dateigrösse1544 Kbytes
Artikel-Nr.2756329
Rubriken
Genre9201

Inhalt/Kritik

Inhaltsverzeichnis
1;Forewords;6
2;Table of Contents;12
3;1 The Mysterious Relationship Between Humans and Animals;16
4;2 Why Humans Are Willing and Able to Relate to Animals: The Perspective of Evolutionary Biology;22
5;3 Effects of Human-Animal Interaction on Health, Social Interaction, Mood, Autonomous Nervous System, and Hormones;50
6;4 Physiology of Relationships: The Integrative Function of Oxytocin;75
7;5 Interpersonal Human Relationships: Attachment and Caregiving;96
8;6 Connecting Attachment and Caregiving with Their Physiological Base;122
9;7 Human-Animal Relationships: Attachment and Caregiving;145
10;8 Bringing the Strands Together: The Physiology of Attachment and Caregiving in Human-Animal Relationships;157
11;9Practical Implications for Therapy;163
12;References;173mehr
Leseprobe
The most important factor for the quality of a child s attachment is the caregiving behavior of his or her attachment figure, including maintaining proximity through retrieval, calling, seeking eye contact, smiling, comforting, and body contact (e.g., carrying, stroking). The quality of caregiving can be measured along the dimensions of sensitivity and responsivity. Sensitivity refers to the caregiver s ability to correctly perceive and interpret the child s signals for proximity. Responsivity describes the degree to which the caregiver responds adequately to these signals. Four model types of caregiving have been identified that correspond to children s secure and insecure attachment patterns. Considerable evidence supports a connection between the oxytocin system and attachment and caregiving. This link is the topic of chapter 6. Here, we discuss the fact that close contact between mother and infant is associated with oxytocin release and the expression of oxytocin-related effect patterns in both mother and infant. Thereby, social interaction is facilitated and anxiety and stress levels are reduced. We assume that later in the child s development, oxytocin is released not only in the presence of the mother but also in the presence of other caregivers. Since the down-regulation of stress is one of the central functions of the attachment system, securely attached children seem to have developed a good tone or function in their oxytocin system from their relationships with their primary and subsequent caregivers. Complementary to that, a mother or father who displays adequate caregiving probably also has a good tone or function in the oxytocin system, while maladaptive caregiving is likely to be associated with an imbalance in the oxytocin system.

In insecurely attached children the attachment figure does not trigger an adequate oxytocin release and, hence, will fail to calm the child and reduce its stress. Primary caregivers of children with attachment disorganization - who often have experienced domestic violence or neglect - may even activate the children s flight-or-fight system, which is triggered by stress and associated hormones. Thus, these caregivers are not only incapable of relieving fear, anxiety, and stress in the children, but rather activate the opposite neurobiological systems. This is adaptive, as it alerts the child and readies the organism for potential danger. It also makes sense that these children do not trust their caregivers anymore - their attachment system has adapted to pathogenic conditions and this adaptation ensures their prevailing psychic survival, the children thereby make the best of a bad situation. This is, however, a dearly purchased adaptation because children who associate their primary caregiver with rejection or even danger will have learned not to turn to alternative sensitive, supportive, and trustworthy caregivers or social partners in emotionally stressful situations. This severely jeopardizes the further social development of such children. Since attachment and caregiving are closely linked with the oxytocin system and since the positive effects of oxytocin overlap with the positive effects of human-animal relationships, we ask in chapter 7 whether human-animal relationships may be conceptualized as attachment or caregiving relationships. Empirical evidence suggests that humans establish attachment as well as caregiving relationships with animals. Research also suggests that insecure attachment and caregiving patterns, rooted in human-human relationships, do not correspond to the attachment and caregiving patterns humans develop with their pets. In groups at risk for developmental and psychological disorders, the prevalence of secure attachment and flexible caregiving to pets is four times higher than that of secure attachment and flexible caregiving to humans! This indicates that disadvantageous attachment and caregiving patterns established in human-human relationships may not be transmitted to relationships with pets. Such results are of great interest because attachment or caregiving patterns are normally transferred to all other close human-human relationships. This is particularly tragic for children with a disorganized attachment pattern, since this puts their further development at great risk.

If humans can form secure attachment and flexible caregiving relationships with companion animals, independently of their attachment pattern to humans, then it can be assumed that such relationships will be mirrored in a good tone or function of the oxytocin system, including its positive effects. Thus, the human-animal relationship could promote an adaptive and healthy social development. Evidence in support of this hypothesis is introduced and discussed in chapter 8.

If animals are indeed suitable agents for bypassing insecure and disorganized attachment and caregiving experiences, this can provide great therapeutic potential for human therapists or other health care professionals to slip into the relationship with the individual while the animal is close by. This therapeutic gain is discussed in chapter 9. We assume that the positive neurobiological effects facilitate the development of adaptive relationships to humans. The neuroendocrinological effects triggered by a close relationship to an animal seem to promote approach behavior and trust in others and to minimize aloofness. Thereby, forming relationships to other humans may be facilitated. Under such conditions, the insecure child s, adolescent s, or adult s attachment system can be confronted with new experiences in human-human relations, allowing the attachment system to adapt to conditions that support the development of mental and physical health. This is particularly important, since an insecure or disorganized attachment toward humans is a risk factor with regard to mental health.

The book closes with a summary and an outlook containing practical applications of the model presented. Since this book integrates psychology, behavioral biology, physiology, and neuroendocrinology, we provide boxes in each chapter that define or explain central concepts of these disciplines.

2Why Humans Are Willing and Able to Relate to Animals: The Perspective of Evolutionary Biology

This chapter provides an evolutionary framework for the question of why humans are generally interested and able to engage in relationships with companion animals. Comparative biology reveals that there is a series of fundamental structures and mechanisms at different levels of behavior, physiology, and the brain that are relevant in a social context and are shared between humans and animals, either because these were conservatively maintained during evolution or because they evolved in parallel. This catalogue includes an evolutionary ancient social network in the brain, comprising a series of nuclear areas that host, for example, the bonding mechanism, emotional systems, and probably even the neural base for empathy and altruistic impulses. Decisions for behavioral output are reached by crosstalk between these basic systems and higher cognitive centers, such as the mammalian prefrontal cortex. Further, important biological faculties influencing communication and socializing between species include stress systems, which are shared over much of the vertebrate pedigree, as well as similar principles of variation of personalities in the different species. Hence, the base for eminently psychological phenomena such as bonding, attachment, caregiving, and the management of social relationships in general is profoundly biological. These biopsychological and behavioral systems are evolved to function within a certain social context, but are inherently flexible to adapt to varying conditions that an individual might encounter.

The Comparative Biologist Approach

The case stories at the beginning of this book convey the message that humans are capable of and willing to relate to nonhuman animals in a similar way as to human social partners. However, there is not simply a superficial resemblance of animal companionship and interpersonal relationships in humans. In fact, the same basic behavioral, neurological, and physiological mechanisms that are active in interactions between humans seem to also be involved in interactions with animals. Particularly relationships with our major companion animals - dogs, cats, horses, etc. - are seemingly not one-way interactions. Usually, the animals involved are not merely passive receivers of human social attention, but are responsive and can act as social partners if prepared by their genetic background and by proper socialization.mehr
Kritik
"Attachment to Pets provides an in-depth discussion on the roots of our attachment to animals. The book helps conceptualize the rationale for our care taking of pets and provides valuable insights into the basis of animal-assisted therapy. The book is an excellent resource for the scientific community and policy makers studying human-animal interactions and, above all, for all those interested in using animals in a therapeutic context." Aubrey H. Fine EdD, Professor, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, Psychologist Editor of The Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy Author of Afternoons with Puppy and Give a Dog Your Heart "This much-needed integrative book explains how the relationship between animals and therapists/clients can effectively be used to provide animal-assisted interventions with positive out-comes. It also presents a valuable scholarly framework that advances the endeavors of the Inter-national Society for Animal-Assisted Therapy. The authors first analyze the physiology of attachment and caregiving, explaining the role of the autonomic nervous system and oxytocin, and go on to describe the evolution of behavioral systems and different types of attachment. Insecure and disorganized attachment patterns have adverse effects in which attachment and caregiving relationships are not fully developed. The authors then connect the attachment and caregiving systems to the neuroendocrine oxytocinergic system. They subsequently focus on the question of how human-animal relationships fit within these perspectives." Lynette Hart, PhD, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davismehr

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