Is Animal-Assisted Therapy for Minimally Conscious State Beneficial? A Case Study
ObjectiveThe goal of this single case study was to qualitatively investigate the effects of animal-assisted therapy in a patient in a minimally conscious state.MethodWe present a 28-year-old female patient in a minimally conscious state following polytrauma after a sports accident leading to cerebra...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00491/full |
| _version_ | 1818203608766742528 |
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| author | Jacqueline P. Boitier Marion Huber Christian Saleh Matthew J. Kerry Margret Hund-Georgiadis Karin Hediger Karin Hediger Karin Hediger |
| author_facet | Jacqueline P. Boitier Marion Huber Christian Saleh Matthew J. Kerry Margret Hund-Georgiadis Karin Hediger Karin Hediger Karin Hediger |
| author_sort | Jacqueline P. Boitier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectiveThe goal of this single case study was to qualitatively investigate the effects of animal-assisted therapy in a patient in a minimally conscious state.MethodWe present a 28-year-old female patient in a minimally conscious state following polytrauma after a sports accident leading to cerebral fat embolism causing multiple CNS ischemic lesions. She received eight animal-assisted therapy sessions and eight paralleled control therapy sessions over 4 weeks. We investigated the reactions of the patient during these sessions via qualitative behavior analysis.ResultsThe patient showed a broader variability and higher quality of behavior during animal-assisted therapy compared to control therapy sessions.ConclusionThe observed behavioral changes showed higher arousal and increased awareness in the presence of an animal. The presented case supports the assumption that animal-assisted therapy can be a beneficial treatment approach for patients in a minimally conscious state. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:28:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c09bc9bd7ec340c296862849f48e10b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:28:03Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-c09bc9bd7ec340c296862849f48e10b92022-12-22T00:39:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402020-05-011110.3389/fpsyt.2020.00491505997Is Animal-Assisted Therapy for Minimally Conscious State Beneficial? A Case StudyJacqueline P. Boitier0Marion Huber1Christian Saleh2Matthew J. Kerry3Margret Hund-Georgiadis4Karin Hediger5Karin Hediger6Karin Hediger7Department of Health, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Winterthur, SwitzerlandDepartment of Health, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Winterthur, SwitzerlandDepartment of Neurophysiology and Neurology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Health, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Winterthur, SwitzerlandCenter for Neurorehabilitation and Paraplegiology, REHAB Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandCenter for Neurorehabilitation and Paraplegiology, REHAB Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, SwitzerlandObjectiveThe goal of this single case study was to qualitatively investigate the effects of animal-assisted therapy in a patient in a minimally conscious state.MethodWe present a 28-year-old female patient in a minimally conscious state following polytrauma after a sports accident leading to cerebral fat embolism causing multiple CNS ischemic lesions. She received eight animal-assisted therapy sessions and eight paralleled control therapy sessions over 4 weeks. We investigated the reactions of the patient during these sessions via qualitative behavior analysis.ResultsThe patient showed a broader variability and higher quality of behavior during animal-assisted therapy compared to control therapy sessions.ConclusionThe observed behavioral changes showed higher arousal and increased awareness in the presence of an animal. The presented case supports the assumption that animal-assisted therapy can be a beneficial treatment approach for patients in a minimally conscious state.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00491/fullminimally conscious statedisorders of consciousnessanimal-assisted therapyhuman-animal interactionbehaviorneurorehabilitation |
| spellingShingle | Jacqueline P. Boitier Marion Huber Christian Saleh Matthew J. Kerry Margret Hund-Georgiadis Karin Hediger Karin Hediger Karin Hediger Is Animal-Assisted Therapy for Minimally Conscious State Beneficial? A Case Study Frontiers in Psychiatry minimally conscious state disorders of consciousness animal-assisted therapy human-animal interaction behavior neurorehabilitation |
| title | Is Animal-Assisted Therapy for Minimally Conscious State Beneficial? A Case Study |
| title_full | Is Animal-Assisted Therapy for Minimally Conscious State Beneficial? A Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Is Animal-Assisted Therapy for Minimally Conscious State Beneficial? A Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is Animal-Assisted Therapy for Minimally Conscious State Beneficial? A Case Study |
| title_short | Is Animal-Assisted Therapy for Minimally Conscious State Beneficial? A Case Study |
| title_sort | is animal assisted therapy for minimally conscious state beneficial a case study |
| topic | minimally conscious state disorders of consciousness animal-assisted therapy human-animal interaction behavior neurorehabilitation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00491/full |
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