Deployment Psychology Blog

Human-animal bonding relationships have existed as long as humans and animals have lived, worked and played together--evidence of positive relationships between people and animals goes back thousands of years. More recently, dogs were used to help heal psychiatric patients in the military as early as 1919 and throughout various wars up until the present. However, a quick look at the literature examining the benefits of this intervention shows that we have a long way to go in building empirical support for the benefits of Pet Therapy. For instance, the Department of Defense does not currently have a department-wide policy regarding Pet Therapy and does not specifically endorse any project or certifying body. Animal Assisted Therapy is not currently listed as an evidence-based therapy for any specific disorder and is considered a complimentary or alternative therapy. On the other hand, there is ample anecdotal evidence of the advantages, and the utilization of Pet Therapy is growing rapidly. 

Welcome to Friday, the end of another work week and the latest edition of CDP News. As always, we’re taking a look back at the past week as well as future events around the Center for Deployment Psychology. For upcoming trainings, our University Counseling Center Core Competency Extended (UC4-E) program will be visiting Columbus, OH to present Prolonged Exposure Therapy training at The Ohio State University on Wednesday and Thursday, May 8-9. This follow-up training is designed to build upon the instructional foundations that are laid during our standard UC4 course. The two-day session teaches attendees about of the use of specific evidence-based therapies, either Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) or Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).