OTD Capstone Projects
Abstract
Pet Partners is a non-profit organization that works to educate and register handlers of multiple species as volunteer therapy teams. While therapy animal programming offered by volunteer handlers provides an invaluable service to communities, there is also a growing body of practitioners who aim to incorporate the healing power of animals into their professionalized settings. The purpose of this project was to delve into the world of AAI in the professional setting and understand the current needs of practitioners in the field. Through interviewing a variety of professionals who utilize AAI in their practice, clear gaps in services were identified, and future directions for the field were made clear, enabling Pet Partners to continue in their process of creating a professionalized organization for AAI practitioners.
Publication Date
Spring 4-12-2021
Faculty Mentor
Carlene Johnson OTD, OTR/L
Department
Occupational Therapy, School of
College
Health Sciences & Nursing, Gordon E. Inman College of
Document Type
Scholarly Project
Degree
Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Degree Level
Doctoral
Degree Grantor
Belmont University
Keywords
occupational therapy; animal assisted therapy; animal assisted interventions
Recommended Citation
Trella, Erin, "Integrating Occupational Therapy and Animal Assisted Therapy" (2021). OTD Capstone Projects. 67.
https://repository.belmont.edu/otdcapstoneprojects/67
