The Benefits of Dog-Assisted Therapy as Complementary Treatment in a Children’s Mental Health Day Hospital
Elías Guillén‐Guzmán, Laia Sastre Rodríguez, Pilar Santamarina-Pérez, Laura Hermida Barros, Marta García Giralt, Eva Domenec Elizalde, Fransesc Ristol Ubach, Miguel Romero González, Yeray Pastor Yuste, Cristina Diaz Téllez, Soledad Romero, Laura Real Gisbert, Miquel Salmerón Medina, Anna Ballesteros-Urpí, Ástrid Morer
Abstract
Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) has shown benefits in people with mental health disorders. A child psychiatric day hospital would be a suitable setting to implement DAT and evaluate the benefits in a pediatric population. METHODS: Mixed methods research in a naturalistic setting was considered in this pre-post quantitative study including 23 children under 13 treated in a day hospital over 2 years. Quantitative analysis included the number of emotional and behavioral outbursts and attendance rate and self-control and social impairment questionnaires completed by family members and therapists. In the qualitative study, the experiences of 12 mental health professionals involved in DAT were documented through semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: On DAT days, there were fewer emotional and behavioral outbursts and higher attendance. Significant differences were obtained between pre- and post-test scores on the SCRS and the SRS-2 completed by the therapists, while no significant differences were obtained on the questionnaires completed by the parents. Observations based on the qualitative study were as follows: (1) DAT improves emotional self-regulation; (2) DAT could facilitate the work of therapists in day hospitals; (3) health professionals displayed uncertainty due to a lack of familiarity with DAT. CONCLUSIONS: DAT improved emotional self-regulation, attendance rate and self-control and social response in children with mental disorders attending a day hospital.