REC 202 Introduction to Animal Assisted Therapies

This course will introduce students to animal assisted therapies and their uses when working with people with physical, emotional and intellectual disabilities, as well as in the treatment of mental health. It will provide a detailed overview of the historical perspectives, theoretical foundations, and an overall basic foundation of animal assisted therapies. This course will focus on canine/feline therapies including: Therapeutic Visitation, Animal Assisted Therapy, Facility Therapy, and equine therapies including: Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, Equine Assisted Learning, The Horse Boy Method, Hippotherapy, Therapeutic Riding and Horsemanship. There will be an additional overview of more exotic therapies involving animals such as dolphins and elephants. Prerequisite: PSY 100 or permission of instructor.

3 credit hours