Animal-assisted therapy in a Canadian psychiatric prison

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-04-2018-0020
• Date: 29 August 2019
• Published date: 29 August 2019
• Pages: 209-231
• Author: Colleen Dell,Darlene Chalmers,Mark Stobbe,Betty Rohr,Alicia Husband
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Animal-assisted therapy in a Canadian

psychiatric prison

Colleen Dell, Darlene Chalmers, Mark Stobbe, Betty Rohr and Alicia Husband

Abstract

Purpose –Prison-based animal programs are becoming increasingly common in North America.

The majority focus on community and animal well-being, with less explicit therapeutic goals for

human participants. The purpose of this paper is to measure the objectives of a canine animal-assisted

therapy (AAT) program in a Canadian psychiatric prison and examine whether the program supports inmates’

correctional plans.

Design/methodology/approach –A modified instrumental case study design was applied with three

inmates over a 24-AAT-session program. Quantitative and qualitative AAT session data were collected and

mid- and end-of-program interviews were held with the inmates, their mental health clinicians and the therapy

dog handlers.

Findings –Inmates connected with the therapy dogs through the animals’perceived offering of love

and support. This development of a human–animal bond supported inmates’correctional plans, which are

largely situated within a cognitive-behavioral skill development framework. Specifically, inmates’connections

with the therapy dogs increased recognition of their personal feelings and emotions and positively impacted

their conduct.

Research limitations/implications –The findings suggest that prison-based AAT programs emphasizing

inmate mental well-being, alongside that of animal and community well-being generally, merit further

exploration. It would be worthwhile to assess this AAT program with a larger and more diverse sample of

inmates and in a different institutional context and also to conduct a post-intervention follow-up.

Originality/value –This is the first study of a prison-based AAT program in a Canadian psychiatric

correctional facility.

Keywords Cognitive behavioural therapy, Animal-assisted intervention

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

According to the AVMA (2018), the wide-ranging term animal-assisted intervention (AAI) is

“commonly used to describe the utilization of various species of animals in diverse manners

beneficial to humans”(para. 4). Dogs are frequently involved in AAIs and visit in public settings for

motivational, educational, therapeutic and recreational benefits (Pet Partners, n.d.). The AAI field

has expanded over the past decade, with research revealing various health and social benefits in

a diversity of settings and particularly with dogs, including among geriatric populations, students

with developmental disorders and oncology patients (Adams et al., 2015; Anson, 2014; Borrego

et al., 2014; Havey et al., 2014; Grandin et al., 2010; Kawamura et al., 2009; Johnson et al.,

2008; Orlandi et al., 2007; Chandler, 2005; Martin and Farnum, 2002; Muschel,1984). However,

there remains a need for additional rigorous research given the infancy of the field (Bert et al.,

2016; Cooke and Farrington, 2014; Bachi, 2013; O’Haire, 2010; Morrison, 2007; Souter and

Miller, 2007; Turner, 2007; Strimple, 2003).

Animal-assiste d therapy (AAT) is o ne type of AAI, define d as “a goal oriented, planned,

structured and documented therapeutic intervention directed by health and human service

providers as part of their profession”(Pet Partners, n.d., para. 1). A key feature of AAT is

the identification of specific treatment goals and measured progress toward attaining them

Received 27 April 2018

Revised 23 June 2018

1 August 2018

Accepted 11 October 2018

Colleen Dell is based at the

Department of Sociology,

School of Public Health,

University of Saskatchewan,

Saskatoon, Canada.

Darlene Chalmers is based at

the Faculty of Social Work,

University of Regina,

Regina, Canada.

Mark Stobbe is based at the

Department of Sociology,

College of Arts and Science,

University of Saskatchewan,

Saskatoon, Canada.

Betty Rohr is based at the

College of Medicine,

University of Saskatchewan,

Saskatoon, Canada.

Alicia Husband is based at the

School of Public Health,

University of Saskatchewan,

Saskatoon, Canada.

DOI 10.1108/IJPH-04-2018-0020 VOL. 15 NO. 3 2019, pp. 209-231, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200

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(Kruger and Serpell, 2010). A recent systematic review of randomized controlled trails on the

effects of AAT for mainly mental and behavioral disorders concluded that “AAT as an

intervention is unique and completely different than pharmacological or traditional rehabilitation

methods”and a call for more comprehensive research was made (Kamioka et al., 2014, p. 16).

The majority of research on AAT involves dogs, followed by horses.

Concern over the health of prisoners has a longstanding history in North America, including the

impacts of incarceration itself (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder) as well as social determinants

contributing to incarceration (e.g. injection drug use as a risk factor for criminalization and HIV).

The USA currently has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, including overrepresentation

of people with mental health problems and a corresponding need for improved care (Al-Rousan

et al., 2017). Drawing on 2004 survey data, a study of the federal and state prison systems in the

USA likewise concluded that at the time “[a] significant portion of the prison population [was] not

receiving treatment for mental health conditions”(Gonzalez and Connell, 2014). In Canada, the

Office of the Correctional Investigator (2018) has also raised incessant concern about prisoners’

inadequate access to physical and mental health care. The WHO (1948) defines health as “a state

of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or

infirmity.”An understanding of mental well-being, which is of primary interest to this paper, is

specific to individuals, societies and cultures (WHO, 2018). For the purpose of this paper, mental

well-being is defined as the ability to appreciate life and deal with its challenges (CMHA, 2018),

recognizing the increased difficulty of this for incarcerated individuals. The term well-being is also

adopted in this paper to reinforce the interconnection between the physical, mental, social and

spiritual aspects of an individual’s health.

This paper examines an AAT program in a Canadian federal psychiatric prison, the Regional

Psychiatric Centre (RPC) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At the time of conducting this study it is

the only prison in Canada offering AAT with dogs. A modified instrumental case study design was

applied with three inmates over a 24-AAT-session program. The purpose of this study is to

determine whether the goal of the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog program is attained within a

psychiatric prison setting. The Therapy Dog program goal is for humans to connect with a

therapy dog through its perceived offering of love and support. The measurable objectives of the

RPC AAT program are: whether inmates establish a connection with a therapy dog, and if so,

whether and how inmates’correctional plans are supported through the resulting human–animal

bond. The merits of emphasizing inmate mental well-being with an AAT program, alongside that

of animal and community well-being generally, are understudied in the AAI field.

Animal-assisted interventions in prison

Offering prison-based AAIs

It is well established that offering psychosocial therapy within a prison setting is challenging

(Crabtree et al., 2016; Genders and Player, 2010; Gussak, 2007). Notably, the mandate of

incarceration facilities and the practicalities of their operation pose significant challenges. Section

718 of The Criminal Code of Canada identifies the objectives of sentencing to a period of two

years or more to federal incarceration as: to denounce unlawful conduct and the harm done to

victims or to the community that is caused by unlawful conduct; to deter the offender and other

persons from committing offenses; to separate offenders from society, where necessary; to

assist in rehabilitating offenders; to provide reparations for harm done to victims or to the

community; and to promote a sense of responsibility in offenders, and acknowledgment of

the harm done to victims or to the community (CCC). Under the authority of Correctional Service

Canada (CSC), Section 718 applies to all of Canada’s federal prisons, including its three

psychiatric facilities.

While CSC’s objectives of rehabilitation and promoting a sense of responsibility are arguably

consistent with AAT, deterrence, denunciation and incapacitation are generally contrary to

therapeutic programming. It is also well documented that incarceration is experienced primarily

as punishment (Beaulieu, 2017; Clear and Frost, 2015; Drake, 2012). As Wasserstrom (1978)

notes, this largely “involves the intentional infliction of unpleasantness or pain upon human beings

by other human beings”(p. 173). Given the overall goals and experience of incarceration, the

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