The project used the well-established cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) anxiety management group which was treatment as usual within the service for this anxiety presentation.

We involved one dog for the project, and her and her owner were registered with Pets As Therapy (PAT) volunteers, and the owner was also a volunteer within the North East London Foundation Trust.

We set up four groups in the study. All four had the same materials and content used for anxiety management, however two of the groups had the presence of the dog and owner in the room. The dog was not ‘used’ as a therapeutic tool, she was allowed, with the consent of everyone in the room, to be off lead. This meant she and the young people were able to interact as they chose. The owner also was not used or involved in delivering information to the group, she was there to monitor the welfare of the dog.

For the project we asked the young people to complete hard copies of Routine Outcome Measures (ROM’s) which were;

• the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ),
• the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS).

These were used as standard measures for this intervention and were completed in the first session and the last session, independently by the young people.

We also asked the young people to complete an anxiety rating scale at the start and end of each session where they would rate their anxiety 0-10 (10 being the most anxious).

The data was collated and analysed using Excel. Written anonymous feedback about the participants’ experience of having the PAT dog in the group provided additional qualitative data.

The Results

Results suggested that the presence of a therapy dog significantly reduced young people’s anxiety ratings in five out of six sessions and there was also a higher discharge rate after completing the group (80% with the PAT dog vs 54% without the PAT dog).

There were no notable differences in attendance rates or the ROMS used, however we did see an increase in the peer relationship score in the dog group which could indicate that a stronger rapport was built between the young people when a dog was present. 

During the final session, the young people in the dog group of cohort one were asked to complete written feedback on their experience of having the PAT dog in the group. Due sickness and holidays only five young people provided feedback, so this was simply reviewed to identify common topics, rather than formally analysed. The feedback indicates that the presence of a therapy dog improved the young person’s experiences, they reporting feeling more relaxed and more confident in the group.

Since the Service Evaluation

Since the project, I have had my dog Peaches trained and she attends my appointments and meetings with me. I now work in schools and I created a risk assessment with the NHS trust to ensure everyone and Peaches is safe and looked after.

As well as the risk assessment being completed before attending a space, if we go to schools, I request a copy of the school’s dog policy.

Peaches attends 1:1 sessions, workshops for parents and staff. She appears to be well loved and appears to be ‘celebrity’ at the schools we attend.

While working, I ensure the rooms we are using are appropriate for her and if we have hot weather days (which is rare!) she will stay at home and this is explained to the young people. She always has access to water and we have time in between sessions for her to rest or go outside.

I was awarded NIHR Career Development Fellowship, which allowed me to have protected time to gain more research knowledge, attend workshops and host a research scoping stakeholder event. We had 28 people attend, consisting of 2 professional guest speakers sharing their knowledge and expertise in Animal Assisted Therapy, which included explanation and definition of Animal Assisted Therapy and the use of dogs for therapy in schools. As well as this we heard from 6 clients who shared their lived experience of having animals as part of their therapeutic interventions. 

We held group discussions and art activities looking at the challenges, barriers, challenges, possibilities and hopes for Animal Assisted Therapy, reflecting of lived experience of Animal Assisted Therapy. The last part of the group discussions consisted of thoughts about the future and shaping the research in Animal Assisted Therapy. Information was gathered by note taking, art projects, poster making and individual written reflections which was then returned. 

The themes identified from the event and post event discussions with the clients it is felt that, Animal Assisted Therapy has a great impact on clients with neurodiversity as it allowed them to access therapy and work on their recovery. More research is needed. The clients feel that research should be conducted jointly with neurodiverse people who access AAT, this can make the research more accurate and impactful.  

Animal assisted therapy is not a ‘one size fits all’ intervention and similar to any therapy, there should be consideration of whether it is a good fit for the client.