Animal-Assisted Therapy (animal mediation)

Animal-assisted therapy is born of a fortuitous observation by child psychiatrist Boris Levinson in 1953, when a mute child addressed his dog Jingles and eventually spoke through him; he formalized the observation in The Dog as a Co-Therapist (1962). Its domain is cross-cutting, structured notably around geriatrics (major neurocognitive disorders, psycho-behavioral symptoms soothed in nursing homes). The international framework of the IAHAIO (2014, revised 2018) distinguishes three modalities: animal-assisted therapy (AAT, a measurable clinical objective), animal-assisted activities (AAA, a recreational aim) and animal-assisted education (AAE).

This therapy is covered in detail (principles, indications, protocol, level of evidence) in Volume 7 of the Mémento des Psychothérapies. See the volume.