How and why synergistic relationships are essential in animal-assisted interventions and interactions

Written by Stasha Wong

A defining characteristic of animal-assisted interactions and interventions (AAIs) is its multidisciplinarity. Successful AAIs are marked by a combination of factors, some of which we explored in previous articles, including?good human-animal teamwork?and?good planning.

Pulling everything together, however, is a collaborative effort that requires a team of people with a diversity of professional specialisations and knowledge, and practice experience.

What are the benefits of a synergistic relationship between AAI programme coordinators, animal behaviour professionals, human healthcare and human service professionals, facility managers, and not least, animal handlers?

In our view, synergy is essential in helping to ensure the?sustainability?of AAI programmes, and the?empowerment?of AAI’s beneficiaries. Here’s why.

Synergy

Phil Arkow ,?internationally-acclaimed lecturer, author and educator in the field of AAI, argues that the field of AAI “transcends disciplines”.?One of the keys to its flourishing, he argues, is?synergy.

Synergy is a situation in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. According to Arkow, synergy describes not only a relationship between people and organisations, but also a set of processes that “combine a win-win strategy with empathic understanding of other participants’ perspectives” (Arkow, 2000).

Reason #1: Sustainability

At present, many AAI programmes in Singapore are run on a voluntary- or ad-hoc basis, as is the norm elsewhere around the world.

However, this model of service delivery faces several challenges, one of which is volunteer recruitment and retention. This challenge was especially acute during Singapore’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.?A 2021 study by the National Voluntary and Philanthropy centre?reported a 7-percentage decline in overall volunteerism rates, compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2018. Many non-profit organisations and volunteer-run groups have?attributed this decrease?to?pandemic restrictions, but also?burnout and compassion fatigue. High volunteer turnover can significantly impact the sustainability of AAI programmes.

On top of this, people who volunteer in addition to their existing family- or professional- commitments may, understandably, have inflexible availability, or limited commitment to up-skilling and professionalisation. Consequently, organisations with a small pool of volunteers may encounter difficulties in sustaining visits on a regular basis or in developing a consistent level of competencies in AAI amongst their members.

Programmes run by full-time members of staff are not perfect either. At aaisg, our dogs work in close partnership with their human handlers. In order for beneficiaries to experience the fullest benefits of the human-animal bond, we believe it imperative that our Caring Canines are handled by their owners, the humans whom they trust and who know them best. Because of this, aaisg does not shelter or own any of the dogs involved in our canine-assisted programmes. To an extent, this arrangement poses the same challenges faced by volunteer-run organisations that were highlighted earlier.

Sustainability through synergy

AAI providers can still run their programmes sustainably, in spite of these challenges. To do so, AAI organisations must cultivate a synergistic relationship with their animal-handler teams. Organisations must understand the challenges that dogs and their handlers face over the course of AAIs, and work collaboratively with teams, creating a sense of trust and community through the nurturance, encouragement and recognition of each team’s strengths.

One?way that aaisg achieves synergy with our Caring Canine teams is through our?10 hour mentorship programme. Throughout this process, we work with Caring Canine teams to articulate achievable goals, and doable steps for working towards these goals. For example, some of our trainee Caring Canines need more practice with impulse control amidst distractions––occasionally, dogs may jump up or bark out of habit or frustration if asked to wait for a yummy treat, or if prevented from meeting another dog present at the facility. These are perfectly natural canine behaviours, although they are also inappropriate in AAI settings.

aaisg works with handlers to identify whatever might trigger their dog’s excitement or frustration. We also show handlers how to teach their dogs an alternative behaviour, or how to apply low-stress handling techniques for managing jumping and barking. If a Caring Canine struggles to cope with a particular AAI setting, we work with handlers to identify their dog’s stress signs and sources of stress, as well as potential strategies for terminating a session or even retiring the dog from AAIs. Whenever necessary, we enlist the expertise of our trusted partner?Kristina, Lead Dog Trainer and Senior Behaviour Consultant of Puppy Colours.?Handlers are never left alone in their worries.

Finding an arrangement that best protects each Caring Canine team’s wellbeing is a collaborative affair made possible only through synergistic processes and relationships: timely feedback, integrative solutions, mutual-learning, honesty, and commitment to the process. AAI programmes that promote synergy become sustainable because animal-handler teams who feel engaged and supported are better protected against burnout or?compassion fatigue, and receive greater fulfilment through their participation in AAIs.

Reason #2: Empowerment

Empowerment is one of aaisg’s?three core values. We believe in making a positive difference through the comforts, joys and fulfillments of mutually-beneficial and life-giving interactions between humans and animals.

As things stand, however, the mainstream of healthcare in Singapore has yet to fully embrace AAIs as a form of complementary medicine. AAI practitioners and advocates must find ways to professionalise the field, and to improve best practices and standards of animal welfare, in order to convince sceptics that AAIs are indeed safe and beneficial for human health.

We want to highlight two things that will raise the esteem and evidence base of AAIs in Singapore:

Firstly, human health professionals offering AAIs must gain minimum competencies. These include (but are not limited to) knowledge on animal welfare, animal behaviour, low-stress handling techniques and infection control measures. In addition to these requirements are formal training (including active licensure, degrees or their equivalent) and expertise within the scope of the professionals’ practice.

Clinicians who claim to provide AAIs without these minimum skills may provide ineffectual interventions at best. At worst, they may endanger the welfare of both their clients and animal partners.

Secondly, AAI providers must understand the various real and perceived reasons as to why organisations and institutions hesitate to implement AAI programmes. At the organisational level, this hesitancy could stem from inadequate information or awareness of the scientific literature in support of AAIs, an unwillingness to pioneer new interventions, an absence of organisational protocols, or health and liability concerns. These concerns must be diagnosed and addressed if AAIs are to be integrated into conventional health and medical practices in Singapore.

Empowerment through synergy

Synergy is an empowering and unifying catalyst. Synergy enables specialised professionals to provide treatment milleus that benefit from cross-fertilisation from other disciplines. To this end, beneficiaries are empowered by a greater choice of therapeutic modalities that were not available previously, such as animal-assisted interventions and interactions.

Empowerments to human health are possible only if all involved in the delivery of AAIs employ a synergistic approach to programme design and implementation. If visits are to be held in a hospital setting, for example, then AAI providers must collaborate with staff across multiple departments––risk management, facility management, infection and disease control, nurses, and allied health professionals––who possess the enthusiasm to make the programme succeed.

There are innumerable collaborative strategies available. During programme design, AAI providers should take into account the spectrum of perspectives of employees across their partner organisation, as well as the wider religious and cultural norms within which their partner organisation is embedded. These perspectives may be sought through focus group discussions. AAI providers and partner organisations could set up a multi-disciplinary task-force, for the purposes of identifying access routes and restricted areas, formulating risk -assessment and -management procedures, patient confidentiality procedures, and so on. AAI providers could also distribute electronic mailers, posters and signages before the event, to inform employees or beneficiaries of the facility of the presence of trained animals. Finally, AAIs can be implemented on a pilot or trial basis, in order to assess its viability.

A synergistic relationship between healthcare professionals and AAI providers can also empower the animals involved in AAIs. AAI providers and partnering organisations should co-develop client selection criteria, and screen out persons for whom AAI is inappropriate. Handlers and healthcare professionals should work closely to match clients with the right animal. Healthcare professionals should also tailor interventions to the appropriate intensity, frequency and duration, based on each?animal-handler teams’ unique strengths.

If done correctly, dogs involved in AAIs may enjoy a multitude of positive effects from human contact, such as improved cardiovascular and hormonal outcomes (Odendaal & Meintjes, 2003), and endocrine function (Handlin et al., 2011). Visits to different facilities and with different client populations provide opportunities for socialisation and mental stimulation, two vital elements of good welfare. Returning to the notion of sustainability, a programme’s emphasis on the long-term health of its animals promotes the success and longevity of the animals’ involvement in AAIs.

Synergistic collaborations are not easy to effect, but they are not impossible. aaisg’s?Dogtors on Call programme?is the first ever canine-assisted intervention to be held in a public acute hospital in Singapore.

In summary, individuals and organisations cannot operate in isolation. Arkow draws on the metaphor of an ecosystem, in which each organism develops an evolutionary adaptation, a specialised function, to fill a particular niche. In the social ecosystem of healthcare and human services, each member organisation must function symbiotically in order to thrive.

In full recognition of this fact, aaisg aims to build a holistic ecosystem in the field of animal-assisted interactions, comprising education and training, services and programmes, and research and professional guidelines. To do this, we employ a collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach, intended to build synergistic relations with our partner organisations and the wider community.

aaisg believes in the power of the human-animal bond, and the promise of animal-assisted interventions and interactions. If you share our belief and want to work with us, drop us an email at?[email protected].

References

Arkow, P. (2000). Synergy and symbiosis in animal-assisted therapy: Interdisciplinary collaborations.?Handbook of animal-assisted therapy, 433-448.

Handlin, L., Hydbring-Sandberg, E., Nilsson, A., Ejdeb?ck, M., Jansson, A., & Uvn?s-Moberg, K. (2011). Short-term interaction between dogs and their owners: effects on oxytocin, cortisol, insulin and heart rate—an exploratory study.?Anthrozo?s, 24(3), 301-315.

Odendaal, J. S., & Meintjes, R. A. (2003). Neurophysiological correlates of affiliative behaviour between humans and dogs.?The Veterinary Journal, 165(3), 296-301.