ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY FOR INMATES

Abstract

From the perspective of the psychosocial intervention models, programs focused mainly on aspects such as increasing self-esteem, promoting positive feelings towards oneself and others, stress management and effective communication strategies. Animal Assisted Therapy (TAA) promotes positive human-animal interaction by incorporating the psychological, behavioral and physical traits of an animal into a therapeutic environment, in order to facilitate the recovery process of a patient in need of physical and / or mental care (Chandler, 2005). Since 1990, the results of animal-assisted therapy in treating attention deficiencies or anxiety states have been made known in the specialized literature, in solving the problems related to social relations and integration, but also in improving the quality of life. The categories of people and the environments in which the TAA programs were applied are extremely varied, including penitentiary systems.
The animal-assisted therapy program can provide the ethical and moral framework that emphasizes the positive examples that can produce a change of perception and attitude regarding drug use, strengthening the inmates motivation in their own recovery process. The therapy is based on the fact that the animals love unconditionally and accept the others as they are, without judging them. In animal-assisted therapy, the dog is frequently used because of its docile nature, the ease with which it can be trained and because, in general, people show sympathy for this animal. The results of the activities carried out in this field have shown that following the TAA, the inmates have registered an improvement of the positive behaviors, as well as a reduction of the disciplinary sanctions. Also, there were no more aggressive manifestations from the animals, they benefiting from decent accommodation and care conditions. Following the analysis of the needs for the year 2019, at the level of the Bucharest-Jilava Penitentiary, it was found that 13.41% of the custodial convicts used drugs. This aspect, as well as the research in the field, justify the addressability of the general intervention program "Assisted Animal Therapy" (TAA) to inmates with a history of narcotic use.