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Title page

J.S. MUTT

STUDENT NUMBER: 9603447

ND: CLINICAL THERAPY

CLINICAL THERAPY II

PET THERAPY

Lecturer: Mrs C. Katz

Date: 24 March 2001

Table of Contents NB. Ensure that your Table of Contents correlates with the text of your assignment. Always type the Table of Contents last.			TABLE OF CONTENTS
				Page
	1.	Introduction		1
	2.	Pet therapy and the elderly		1
	3.	Projects in Cape Town		2
		3.1	The Catholic League	2
		3.2	Hout Bay Union of Jewish Women	2
	4.	Conclusion		3
	5.	Bibliography		4

The text of your assignment, with pages and sections clearly numbered, with a coherent introduction and conclusion. Remember: Introduction can be written last. Do not number your title page. If you wish, the Table of Contents may be numbered in small roman figures, e.g. i, ii, iii. Spacing: 1 1/2 for text NB. Check that you have: 1. concentrated on the topic 2. displayed clear, logical development and organisation: spacing, paragraphing, numbering etc. should be logical and consistent 3. used correct referencing techniques 4. checked spelling, grammar and punctuation 5. written objectively, in an impersonal academic style Note: Long quote indented in smaller font. Use font size 10.		PET THERAPY
	1.	Introduction

		Therapy means the treatment of physical or mental disorders by non-surgical methods; for example occupational therapy, physiotherapy or psychotherapy. In pet therapy the special qualities that pets have are exploited to help people with problems. Pet therapy is used with, inter alia, disturbed children and handicapped people.

	2.	Pet therapy and the elderly

		Old people living in South Africa today have specific problems. Research shows that x% live on incomes of less than R200 per month; y% have no contact with their families; z% depend on church support groups for food and clothing (Human Sciences Research Council, 1994:78-79).

		Pets have inherent qualities that might well help the elderly in the situations described above. A pet, by definition, is an animal that has been domesticated. It is bred to fit in with people's needs. Pets serve a useful purpose in family life: they play; they welcome one home; they accept their human family without question; they give comfort.

		It is perhaps this last quality that makes them so potentially therapeutic for old people. As Yvonne Carmen points out, they give comfort and solace to lonely residents of old-age homes (Carmen, 1994:58).

	3.	Projects in Cape Town

		Pet therapy in Cape Town began in an experimental way in 1992 as a project of the XXX (Behr, 1993:45). This proved very successful. Measures of emotional 1 well-being showed that regular contact with pets benefitted the residents of two old-age homes in Lansdowne and Bellville (Behr, 1993:47).

		Since 1992, two other projects have developed:

		3.1 The Catholic League takes a goat and rabbits to the Stroke Ward at Muizenberg Hospital once a week. Some of these patients seem lost to the world; yet having a warm rabbit gently placed on their laps seems to provide a reaction (O'Brien, 1993).

		3.2 The Hout Bay Union of Jewish Women visits Jewish old-age homes in Cape Town in rotation, and two dogs, three cats, rabbits and hamsters make up the league of "furry friends".

	4.	Conclusion These projects prove the value of pet therapy for old people. The great advantage of pet therapy is its relatively low cost. The needs of the elderly are huge but resources are small. Volunteers can be used in pet therapy programmes as no specialised training is needed. Once hospital staff realise the benefits of pet therapy, objections to animals in hospital are shelved. As Hogben (1988: 25) indicates in her seminal article on pet therapy:

		When the pet therapy project was initiated in the Boston Hospital Network in 1985, various objections were voiced, most of which concerned standards of hygiene and disruption of hospital routines. By 1987 even the most vociferous of the opponents of the scheme conceded that its advantages far outweighed its disadvantages: long-term and bed-ridden patients were less prone to depression, and the chronic boredom suffered by these patients, many of whom received few visitors, was alleviated.

		Similar findings were reported by Solomon (1990).

		The above survey conclusively proves that pet therapy should be supported. It has much to offer a vitally important segment of the community, and existing projects have proved that pet therapy is feasible and manageable.

A bibliography of all sources consulted, in alphabetical order. This bibliography is according to the Harvard style. How to compile a bibliography: Harvard style APA style Chicago style Vancouver style	5.	Bibliography
		BEHR, J.A. 1993. Pet therapy and the elderly: a case study. Compos mentis, 10 (3):45-49.
		CARMEN, Yvonne. 1994. Along came a dog. London: Edward Arnold.
		HOGBEN, Janice E. 1988. The pet project: pet therapy in the Boston Hospital Network. New England journal of medicine, 65(5):20-25, May.
		HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL. 1994. Report on the living standards of the elderly in South Africa. Pretoria: HSRC.
		O'BRIEN, Siobhan. 1993. Interview with author, 5 June at the Salesian Institute, Cape Town.
		SOLOMON, Adam. 1990. An evaluation of pet therapy case studies in New Hampshire hospitals. Journal of the American Medical Association, 96(10):101-114, Fall.

Acknowledgements: Content by Prof ES van Aswegen.