Pets and Mental Health / Edition 1

by Odean Cusack

Overview

This fascinating new book addresses the most recent research and provocative findings on the use of pets in mental health therapy. The historical basis of using pets in therapy is reviewed, and numerous examples are provided of results incurred from prescribing pets to disabled, lonely, incarcerated, and institutionalized individuals. The author provides convincing evidence of the therapeutic value of animals in making us happier, healthier, and more sociable. Although the terms human-animal bond and pet-facilitated therapy are relative newcomers to the scientific literature, the concepts they encompass have been with us for centuries. BACKCOVER COPY Research has shown that animals can promote humor, laughter, play, and a sense of importance in people. This fascinating book explores the provocative findings on the use of pets in mental health therapy. Although the terms human-animal bond and pet-facilitated therapy are relative newcomers to the scientific literature, the concepts they encompass have been with us for centuries. The historical basis of using pets in therapy is reviewed, and numerous examples show the astonishing results of prescribing pets to disabled, lonely, incarcerated, and institutionalized individuals. Odean Cusack, animal lover and writer, provides convincing evidence of the therapeutic value that animals have in making us happier, healthier, and more sociable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780866566520
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/16/1988
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.81(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Contents Pet-Facilitated Therapy: An Introduction

• The Human-Animal Bond
• Why We Love Our Pets: A Naturalistic/Psychoanalytical Approach
• Why We Love Our Pets: A Learning Theory Perspective
• Depression
• Stress and Anxiety
• Psychiatric Patients
• Pets and Children
• Pets and Adolescents
• Pets in the Family
• Pets and the Elderly
• Tiffany: Portrait of a Canine Cotherapist
• Prison Pets
• The Veterinarian as Human Psychologist
• The Death of a Pet
• Pet-Facilitated Therapy for the Physically Challenged
• Closing Thoughts
• Bibliography and Selected Readings
• Appendix: Organizations Involved in Pet Therapy and Research Into the Human-Animal Bond
• Index