Conceptual Framework for Animal Assisted Therapy

Animal-assisted Therapy (A-AT) is becoming a popular therapeutic treatment for both children and adults. The author has used A-AT in a school setting with students with emotional disturbances. A review of the literature regarding A-AT reveals a lack of a unified theoretical framework. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that incorporates a physiological, psychological, and cognitive model to depict the functional deficits that challenge students with emotional disturbances. Attachment Theory is then used to describe why A-AT may be effective in improving the socio-emotional and behavioral functioning of students with emotional disturbances.