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The Conversation
The Conversation
Science
Ann Hemingway, Professor of Public Health and Wellbeing, Bournemouth University

Pet therapy: how dogs, cats and horses help improve human wellbeing

Monkey business images/shutterstock

We’ve all heard of the psychotherapy couch, and the dynamic between a client and their human therapist. But perhaps less well known is the increasingly popular pet therapy. And no, that’s not therapy for your pet – it’s the relatively new phenomenon of therapy for humans, which involves animals.

These animal assisted interventions (AAIs) – which also include a trained human professional – are proving beneficial to people of all ages, leading to significant reductions in physiological responses to stress – such as heart rate – and associated emotions, such as anxiety.

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