Den terapeutiska poängen med att använda djur i olika behandlingar - En kvalitativ studie om användandet av djur i behandling

The aim of this study was to find out how professionals in various treatments regard the use of animals as part of the treatment. The aim was also to find out if the professionals see any positive or negative effects with having animals as part of the treatment, and what the clients view was on having animals in the organizations. The study was based on a qualitative research method which included interviews with six professionals from different professional and geographical areas in Sweden. A weakness we discovered in only interviewing the professionals was that we only received their direct view of having animals in treatment, and that the client perspective was received as second hand information. The results of the interviews showed that the client’s physical and mental health increased by having animal as part of the treatment. Petting an animal makes the clients calmer and happier; it can also reduce depression and lower blood pressure. There has been a lot of resistance in Swedish treatment centers for some time regarding the use of animals as a therapeutic resource. The general Swedish view is that more research about the subject is needed. This view was also shared by the people we interviewed, who felt that there was a need for more education about the subject in both social work and health care