ABSTRACT
Animal-assisted therapy in counseling (AAT-C) is the incorporation of pets as therapeutic agents into the counseling process. This can be done in a variety of ways and by using a variety of techniques. AAT-C is one type of application in the broader field of Animal-assisted therapy (AAT); thus, it is important to first briefly introduce the overall construct of AAT. AAT promotes positive human–animal interaction and incorporates the talents and traits of a therapy animal into a therapeutic setting to facilitate the recovery of patients seeking physical or mental health services. It is important to comprehend the difference between animal-assisted activity (AAA) and AAT. Most people tend to lump AAA and AAT into one category called “animal-assisted therapy.” In a physical sense, therapy animals are much more “nosey” than human therapists. It is believed that the York Retreat, founded in 1792 in York, England, was the first instance of emotional therapy involving animals.
