Holistic Nursing- Animal Assisted Therapy

RUNNING HEAD : HOLISTIC NURSING-ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY

Holistic Nursing- Animal Assisted Therapy

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Holistic Nursing : Animal Assisted Therapy

Introduction

Holistic healing and holistic nursing are quickly becoming a welcome change as compared to traditional medical procedures . Traditional medicine focuses on one area of the body that is ill--while holistic healing treats the body , mind , and spirit as a whole in addition to looking at the individual 's diet , environment , and relationships around them . This holistic environment may utilize pet therapy as a form

of holistic healing , with the ill individual forming a special healing relationship with animals who are specifically trained for therapy

Discussion

According to Wendy Harris 's August 2006 article , Take Two Herbal Tonics and Call Me in the Morning ' a 2002 health survey from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control 's National Center for The Health Statistics has found that 36 of U .S . adults use some form of holistic medicine with 62 of U .S . adults using prayer in addition to holistic medicine This percentage is said to have created a billion-dollar industry - alternative medicine is the largest growing sector of the healthcare industry ' Holistic therapies are said to be developing right along with this huge growth , even though at a slower pace , with animal therapy becoming a major player

The Center to Study Human-Animal Relationships and Environments at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis , Minnesota , was formed to create opportunities to acquire , disseminate , and apply knowledge about the relationship between animals , humans , and their shared environment so that choices improve the quality of life for all (University of Minnesota , CENSHARE , 2005 . According to a CENSHARE report by Carol Ouhl in 2007

Therapy dogs or therapy animals is a generic name given to an animal once it has been specifically evaluated and registered with one of the national organizations that operate in this capacity . There are two distinctly different applications for therapy dogs . Therapy dogs do NOT operate as specially trained assistance or service dogs that open doors turn on lights assist the hearing or visually impaired . This is another higher level of training and assessment . Therapy dogs do NOT have federally granted legal access to public transportation , airplane cabins or public buildings as is afforded to service dogs . Many different types of animals participate in both AAA and AAT

According to this article , holistic nursing with therapy assisted animals would fall into the AAT division as the pet is used as a treatment modality in a written , individualized treatment plan with specific , documented goals ' as compared to the AAA where volunteers take pets to the hospitals , nursing homes , and so on (Ouhl , 2007

In Nurse .Com , stories show how therapy assisted animals are working with severely ill individuals when people cannot reach them regarding emotions and pain . Cathryn Domrose , 2002 , wrote an article titled Puppy Power ' where it is being discovered by hospitals and nurses that the benefits of animal-assisted activities and...