Small or Companion Animal Medicine Commons^™

Animal-Assisted Therapy For Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Investigation On The Positive Effects Of Attachment And Affiliation Behaviors, Sara Miele

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops in people who have experienced a traumatic event (nimh.nih.gov, 2016). Because PTSD is a chronic disorder, it is associated with impaired quality of life (Stern et al., 2013). A specific population at high risk for developing PTSD is military veterans. It is estimated over half a million military veterans suffer from PTSD (Stern et al., 2013). Although there are psychological services and treatments for veterans, many do not seek help because fear of the negative stigma associated with mental illness (Lanning & Krenek, 2013). Recently, efforts have been made to implement veteran friendly treatment in …