Barking up the wrong tree : pet therapy in South Africa

There exists but one local detailed, documented study by Bergensen (1989) that focused on the effects of pet facilitated therapy on the self-esteem and socialisation of primary school children. In addition, a handful of articles have been published in South African journals. It is rather perturbing to note that a proven, highly effective adjunct to conventional therapeutic intervention is lacking in the South African therapeutic milieu. The marked ignorance and defence behind practitioners scorn for this form of therapy is rather perplexing, especially in light of its official existence for over thirty years. This dissertation probes the concept of pet-facilitated therapy by referring to extensive studies, focusing on various sub-populations, and concludes with a study investigating local opposition to pet therapy.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

2003

Author dc:creator

• Naidoo, Pevashnee

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Schomer, Helgo

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7989

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/7989