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An Occupational Therapist's Manual For Animal Assisted Therapy With Emotionally Distrubed Adolescents, Ann Marie. Bilek, Hannah Osborne

Occupational Therapy Capstones

According to the comprehensive literature review, animals are currently being used as an effective tool during therapy and have been reported to promote improvement with communication, behaviors, quality of life, and self esteem of different treatment populations. Since emotionally disturbed adolescents often lack appropriate skills in the areas of communication, social interactions, self-esteem, independence, and boundaries, it can be challenging for occupational therapists to provide opportunities for development of these skills. Animal assisted therapy may be a tool that can assist in bridging the gap between the adult therapist and emotionally disturbed adolescents and provide a medium to promote skill …