New research investigates the experiences of dog-assisted therapy for adults with intellectual disabilities in a mental health setting.

The therapeutic use of dogs to improve a person’s physical or mental health has increased in recent decades, alongside evidence of its effectiveness. Previous research has revealed that interacting with therapy dogs can reduce patients’ perception of pain, boost their activity levels, improve social functioning, and elevate their mood. However, little attention has been given to exploring the benefits of dog-assisted therapy with a diverse range of populations, including individuals with intellectual disabilities.

People with intellectual disabilities can struggle with traditional verbal and cognitive-oriented therapies, due to limitations in their working memory, language skills, and emotional regulation. They also experience difficulties generalising what they learn in therapy into their everyday lives. For this reason, researchers from the Netherlands recently investigated the impact of dog-assisted therapy in adults with mild intellectual disability (MID) or borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) in a mental health setting.

New research into dog-assisted therapy

The study included seven patients with MID or BIF, aged between 27-48 years, who took part in 13-15 dog-assisted therapy sessions at a mental health facility. The sessions lasted 45 minutes and took place weekly. During the sessions, patients developed their communication skills, concentration, attention, self-confidence and stress regulation, in indoor and outdoor settings.

After the sessions, participants, their relatives, and the dog-assisted therapy therapist, were asked about their experiences in semi-structured interviews. A focus discussion was also conducted with the treatment team. The conversations were recorded and transcribed, before being analysed using a qualitative research method called Interpretational Phenomenological Analysis to understand the personal experiences and meanings constructed by individuals.

Study findings

The results revealed several key themes which highlight the therapeutic benefits of dog-assisted therapy for adults with MID or BIF.

Physical contact with the dog

Patients reported adverse experiences which often left them feeling tense in their daily lives. Many of the patients had been in a residential setting for a long time, and valued the contact with the dog which made them feel calm and comforted.

“Many people with whom I had a connection are gone. The dog is there for me and because of that I know that a good heart exists.”

Making contact through people via the dog

Patients generally found it difficult to make contact with, and trust, new people. The presence of the dog helped patients do both of these things by providing a topic of conversation, and allowing patients to witness the dog-assisted therapist acting in a kind way towards the dog which led them to believe that the therapist could be trusted.

“I noticed that people like seeing the dog. They make contact. I dared to look at them, which I never do otherwise because I am afraid they will be angry with me. I saw now that they were friendly to the dog. Then I also acted friendly. I also say ‘hi’ to people now when I am alone and I dare to look around me.”

The Dog Is the Focus Instead of My Problems

Patients valued that the sessions did not focus on the negative aspects of themselves, and instead focused on them working with the dog.

“Therapy starts with a happy dog, who wags when I stand at the front door, whom I go to pet and with whom I chat when I come in. That dog doesn’t ask “How are you?” I think that’s a rotten question, usually because I can’t say I’m doing well.”

Experiential character of dog-assisted therapy

Instead of talking about their problems, patients viewed dog-assisted therapy as working with dogs. Patients mentioned seeing the results of their efforts when they tried new things.

“This therapy is not an hour of talking but an hour of working. We often repeat an exercise, then I see how much better and faster the dog listens to me.”

Dog-assisted therapy as a positive therapy

The focus group revealed that patients often struggled to try new things due to mental health problems and negative learning experiences in the past. However, even when patients had become overwhelmed earlier in the day, they were still keen to go to dog-assisted therapy.

“I have to laugh all the time at the dog’s mischievous behaviour, not listening […] The therapist and I have come up with a name for the dog’s busy, stubborn behaviour: ‘wet nose behaviour.’ I have to laugh so much when he listens better to me than to the therapist, which happens sometimes!”

Dog-assisted therapy helps patients to feel normal

Instead of being treated like patients, patients enjoyed the feeling of normality when they played, walked or cuddled the dog.

“When I walk with the dog and therapist, I feel so normal.”

Research implications

The findings of this study highlight the potential benefits of using dog-assisted therapy in adults with MID and BIF, in a mental health setting. Many of the experiences reported by participants align with the findings of previous research, including improvements in social skills and quality of life. However, patients also mentioned more unique experiences, such as the feeling of normality when walking a dog. For this reason, future research should incorporate a larger sample size, as well as evaluating the long-term effectiveness of dog-assisted therapy in a range of health settings.

Key study findings:

• Patients valued the physical contact with dogs
• The dog’s presence helped patients make contact with others
• Dogs helped shift the focus away from patients
• Patients enjoyed spending time with the dogs
• Performing activities with the dog gave patients a feeling of normality