Enhancing Occupational Therapy Students’ Education in Animal-Assisted Therapy: Students’ Experience

Animal-assisted therapy has been gaining increased attention in occupational therapy practice and research. Yet the topic remains missing from university curricula at an international level. The aim of this study was to describe how animal-assisted therapy might be introduced to occupational therapy curricula and explore the experience of students who were able to implement their knowledge within a student-led clinic. Nine occupational therapy students engaged in individual semistructured interviews, allowing them to describe their experience participating in a student-led canine-assisted therapy clinic. Transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Four themes emerged describing the students’ experience: outside my comfort zone, a safe learning environment, opening minds to possibilities by linking theory to practice, and future recommendations. Students explained that they were initially met with a challenge as canine-assisted therapy was an area of practice in which they had limited previous experience. However, they noted that the safe learning environment created by the clinic staff, their peers, and their clients’ parents supported their confidence to overcome these challenges and embrace the unique learning experience. Students identified that they gained a deeper understanding of the occupational therapy profession through this experience. Finally, while describing an overall positive experience, students identified that improvements could be made to further support student learning. To support the increasing involvement of occupational therapists in animal-assisted therapy, methods to establish appropriate education and training are required. Introducing animal-assisted therapy to university curricula as an area of occupational therapy practice, as well as within student-led clinics might be a potential way in which this could be achieved.