PET THERAPY: THE BENEFITS FOR PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS IN AMBIENTOTHERAPY - CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS AND REGRESSIVE ADULTS

Abstract

He animals, especially dogs, have always been considered man's best friends. And increasingly, other animals are used for the purpose of company and well-being to the individual, providing great benefits in broad aspects. Thus, Pet Therapy has been increasingly entering the daily life of the well-being of the human being. It brings physical and psychological benefits. Thus, the creation of this study was based on the application of an intervention in a clinic that works with patients on Ambientotherapy, most of them children and adolescents, where the objective was to evaluate the behaviour during and after Pet Therapy activities, in an attempt to observe improvements and benefits to patients. The idea of this intervention arose because of comments made by patients about the close proximity to their pets. The volunteer group that applied the activity were students of the Veterinary Medicine and Psychology courses at Uniritter. Moments of play and socialisation with animals were offered. Within the results, it was observed that the presence of dogs could indeed bring benefit to those assisted. With the excellent attitude of the volunteer students in the clinic with the patients, both were able to make changes of affection during the intervention.