Did you know that interacting with pets is good for your mental health? Teachers have shared numerous stories about how classroom pets have helped students deal with stress and emotions, and chances are, you can probably share your own story on how a pet in your life has helped brighten your day. But we also can look at research that shows us exactly what animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are doing to improve mental health:
- Increase perceptions of social support
13, 16
- Support people during times of crisis
4, 9, 10
- Assist professionals in providing trauma recovery
17, 19
- Decrease levels of general anxiety
6, 14, 24
- Alleviate symptoms of depression 20
- Assist in formalized mental health treatment
3, 5, 11, 12, 15, 23
Studies show us that therapy animals can help us feel better, but can they also help us learn?
Research on AAI in learning environments has shown that therapy animals may help with the following aspects:
- Foster reading abilities, such as reading rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension
22
- Enhance primary skills such as object recognition and categorization
7, 8
- Mitigate stress levels, especially surrounding events like final exams
1, 18, 21
- Provide a source of motivation, stimulation, and focus in learning
8
The answer is YES, therapy animals can positively impact students academically, socially, and emotionally. Whether helping to encourage struggling readers, motivating students to focus on their learning, or providing a non-judgmental friend, therapy animals can make an incredible difference.
To view more studies and research on children and the benefits of human-animal interaction, visit https://habri.org/research/child-health/. You can also learn more about animal-assisted intervention by visiting petpartners.org or about the benefits of classroom animals by visiting https://www.petsintheclassroom.org/benefits-of-classroom-animals/.
