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Home / Equine Research Bank / Psychiatr Serv / Animal-assisted therapy with chronic psychiatric inpatients:...
Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)2014; 66(1); 80-86; doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201300524

Animal-assisted therapy with chronic psychiatric inpatients: equine-assisted psychotherapy and aggressive behavior.

Abstract: Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), most frequently used with dogs, is being used increasingly as an adjunctive alternative treatment for psychiatric patients. AAT with larger animals, such as horses, may have unique benefits. In this randomized controlled study, equine and canine forms of AAT were compared with standard treatments for hospitalized psychiatric patients to determine AAT effects on violent behavior and related measures. Methods: The study included 90 patients with recent in-hospital violent behavior or highly regressed behavior. Hospitalization at the 500-bed state psychiatric hospital was two months or longer (mean 5.4 years). Participants were randomly selected to receive ten weekly group therapy sessions of standardized equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP), canine-assisted psychotherapy (CAP), enhanced social skills psychotherapy, or regular hospital care. Participants' mean age was 44, 37% were female, 76% had diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and 56% had been committed involuntarily for civil or forensic reasons. Violence-related incident reports filed by staff in the three months after study intake were compared with reports two months preintake. Results: Interventions were well tolerated. Analyses revealed an intervention group effect (F=3.00, df=3 and 86, p=.035); post hoc tests showed specific benefits of EAP (p<.05). Similar AAT effects were found for the incidence of 1:1 clinical observation (F=2.70, df=3 and 86, p=.051); post hoc tests suggested benefits of CAP (p=.058) as well as EAP (p=.082). Covariance analyses indicated that staff can predict which patients are likely to benefit from EAP (p=.01). Conclusions: AAT, and perhaps EAP uniquely, may be an effective therapeutic modality for long-term psychiatric patients at risk of violence.
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Publication Date: 2014-10-31 PubMed ID: 25269512DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.201300524Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Comparative Study
  • Journal Article
  • Randomized Controlled Trial

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article discusses a controlled study comparing the effects of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) using dogs and horses on violent behavior in chronic psychiatric patients. The findings suggest that equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) may be particularly effective.

Research Context and Methodology

  • The study was conducted with 90 chronic psychiatric patients held in a state psychiatric hospital. These patients had exhibited violent or highly regressed behavior and had been hospitalized for an average of 5.4 years.
  • The demographic of the subjects varied, with an average age of 44, 37% females, and 76% diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
  • The participants were randomly assigned to ten weekly group therapy sessions. The therapy types were equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP), canine-assisted psychotherapy (CAP), enhanced social skills psychotherapy, or just regular hospital care.
  • Measures of the violent incidents reported by hospital staff in the three months leading up to the study were compared to reports from two months after the study’s intake.

Results of the Study

  • All the interventions were well-received by the patients.
  • Analysis of the data indicated a group effect; however, specific benefits of EAP were observed and found to be statistically significant.
  • Similar effects were found for the incidence of one-on-one clinical observation from canine-assisted psychotherapy (CAP), as well as from equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP).
  • Use of covariance analyses revealed that staff could predict which patients were likely to benefit from EAP.

Conclusions of the Study

  • The study concluded that Animal-Assisted Therapy, and EAP specifically, could potentially be a beneficial therapeutic modality for long-term psychiatric patients who are at risk of violent behavior.
  • The findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of EAP, but the authors also hint at a potential benefit from CAP. The exact mechanisms of these effects are not explained, suggesting that more research is needed in this area.

Cite This Article

APA
Nurenberg JR, Schleifer SJ, Shaffer TM, Yellin M, Desai PJ, Amin R, Bouchard A, Montalvo C. (2014). Animal-assisted therapy with chronic psychiatric inpatients: equine-assisted psychotherapy and aggressive behavior. Psychiatr Serv, 66(1), 80-86. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201300524

Publication

Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)
ISSN: 1557-9700
NlmUniqueID: 9502838
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 66
Issue: 1
Pages: 80-86

Researcher Affiliations

Nurenberg, Jeffry R
  • At the time of the study, Dr. Nurenberg, Dr. Schleifer, Dr. Desai, Dr. Amin, Mr. Bouchard, and Dr. Montalvo were with the Department of Psychiatry, Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, Morris Plains, New Jersey ( jeffry.nurenberg@dhs.state.nj.us ). Dr. Nurenberg remains affiliated with Greystone and is also with the Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, where Dr. Schleifer was primarily affiliated at the time of the study and remains. Dr. Desai is now with the Department of Psychiatry, St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D.C. Dr. Amin is now with the Department of Surgery, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina. Mr. Bouchard is now with the Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Dr. Montalvo is now with the Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston. Mr. Shaffer was and remains with the Department of Training and Ms. Yellin was and remains with the Department of Occupational Therapy at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. Portions of this work were presented at the European Congress of Psychiatry, Vienna, Austria, March 12-15, 2011; the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, Honolulu, Hawaii, May 14-18, 2011; and the European Congress of Psychiatry, Nice, France, April 6-9, 2013.
Schleifer, Steven J
    Shaffer, Thomas M
      Yellin, Mary
        Desai, Prital J
          Amin, Ruchi
            Bouchard, Axel
              Montalvo, Cristina

                MeSH Terms

                • Adult
                • Aggression / psychology
                • Animal Assisted Therapy / methods
                • Animals
                • Commitment of Mentally Ill
                • Dogs
                • Equine-Assisted Therapy / methods
                • Female
                • Horses
                • Humans
                • Inpatients
                • Male
                • Middle Aged
                • Psychotherapy, Group / methods
                • Psychotic Disorders / therapy
                • Schizophrenia / therapy
                • Social Skills
                • Treatment Outcome
                • Violence / prevention & control

                Citations

                This article has been cited 20 times.
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