Animal-Assisted Therapy for Kids: What Parents Need to Know About Healing With Animals

Curious whether animal-assisted therapy is safe and effective for children? Discover neuroscience insights, practical guidelines, and what parents should know before exploring this healing path.

Making Connection Possible

Imagine your child walking into a therapy room, anxious or withdrawn, and instead of staring at the walls, they’re greeted by a gentle dog or a calm horse. Suddenly connection seems possible again. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is gaining traction as a complementary approach in child mental health. But what should parents know before investing hope, time, or money into this modality?

In this article, we’ll explore:

     — What animal-assisted therapy is (and is not)
     — The neuroscience behind why it can help children
    — Benefits, limitations, and safety precautions
    — How to assess whether it’s right for your child
     — Practical steps families can take to explore this path

Through warm, evidence-informed guidance, Embodied Wellness & Recovery hopes to clarify whether AAT could support your child’s healing journey, especially when traditional therapy feels stuck or overwhelming.

What Is Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)?

Animal-assisted therapy is a structured, goal-oriented therapeutic approach in which trained animals and handlers become part of the treatment team. Unlike emotional support animals or pets, these animals are purpose-trained and integrated into interventions designed to promote children’s emotional, behavioral, interpersonal, or physiological well-being. 

Forms of AAT may include:

     — Canine-assisted therapy — dogs visiting therapy rooms or schools
    — Equine-assisted therapy (EAT / equine-assisted psychotherapy) — gentle interactions with horses (grooming, leading, riding)
    — Small-animal therapy — rabbits, guinea pigs, or birds used especially for sensitive children
    — Farm or nature-based interventions — multi-species settings with structured tasks

AAT is best delivered by a licensed therapist who embeds animal interactions within a broader psychotherapeutic or developmental framework.

Why Might AAT Help Children?

1. Calming the nervous system

Touching or petting animals triggers biochemical responses, oxytocin increases, cortisol decreases, and serotonin and prolactin may rise. A UCLA program notes that the simple act of petting animals “releases an automatic relaxation response.” 

In a separate study, animal-assisted interaction was associated with lower cortisol levels and improved mood among participants, suggesting that animals can help shift a dysregulated stress response into a more regulated state. 

From neuroscience, we know that regulation (via the vagus nerve, the prefrontal cortex, and interoceptive pathways) forms the foundation for children to access emotional learning, social engagement, and therapeutic insight. If a child is stuck in a fight-or-flight state, talk therapy alone may not be enough. Animal interaction offers a physiologic “bridge” to regulation.

2. Enhancing therapy engagement and trust

One barrier in child therapy is resistance, emotional avoidance, or discomfort with introspection. Animals offer nonjudgmental presence, reducing relational anxiety and helping children feel safer. In a study of hospitalized children with brain injury, adding animal-assisted intervention significantly increased therapy engagement scores (affective and behavioral) compared to control sessions. 

3. Strengthening social, emotional, and prosocial skills

For children with developmental differences (e.g., autism spectrum disorders), AAT may boost prosocial behavior, social initiative, and communication skills. In a pilot study, animal therapy reduced stress behaviors and improved social engagement. 

Animal presence can shift focus outward (“I have a task to do with the dog”) rather than inward (rumination, shame), providing a relational scaffold for empathy, attunement, and reciprocity.

Questions Parents May Be Wrestling with:

      — Will it be safe? What about allergies, fear of animals, or zoonotic risk?
      — Is it evidence-based for my child’s issue (anxiety, trauma, ADHD, autism)?
      — What is the cost? Does insurance cover sessions?
      — How often and how long do sessions need to be to see a benefit?
      — What credentials should the animal, handler, and therapist hold?
      — Could it feel gimmicky or distract from core therapeutic work?

These are valid concerns. Let’s address them next with a balanced view.

Benefits, Limitations & Safety Considerations

Potential Benefits

      — Regulation support: helps calm overactivation and widen the windows of tolerance
       —  Emotional support and motivation: children may feel safer, more curious, and more willing to explore
      — Reduced anxiety or distress during therapy
      — Bridge into relational work: animal becomes relational anchor before human relationships
        — Nonverbal communication opportunities: beneficial for children who struggle with verbal and emotional expression

⚠️ Limitations & Risks

    — Not every child will respond or benefit equally; some have a fear of animals, phobias, or allergies.
    — Training and credentialing matters: animals must be therapy-certified, with handlers versed in risk mitigation.
    — Animals themselves need care, rest, and ethical oversight (the welfare of therapy animals is part of the moral framework).
    — In severe psychopathology (psychotic or self-harm states), AAT should be adjunctive, not standalone.

How to Evaluate If AAT Is Right for Your Child

Here’s a decision pathway for parents:

Step Consideration Action

Child readiness: Does your child tolerate closeness, touch, or novelty? Trial short, low-stakes sessions (e.g., petting therapy dog)

Therapist/provider vetting: Is the therapist licensed? Are animals certified?

Are hygiene protocols upheld? Ask for credentials, insurance compliance, and health protocols

Therapeutic alignment: Is AAT aligned with your child’s underlying needs:

trauma, regulation, attachment? Use AAT within a modality that works with nervous system repair

Incremental integration: Begin with low-intensity exposure, monitor the child’s

physiological and emotional responses Track outcomes with your therapist and adjust accordingly

Holistic support: Combine AAT with talk therapy, somatic techniques, Let the animal presence support, not replace, the core

and relational work psychotherapeutic goals

Steps Parents Can Take Today

     — Ask your child’s therapist: Have you worked with AAT? Do you have referrals?
     — Visit programs and observe sessions before committing
     — Share your child’s medical or allergy history ahead of time
    — Watch your child’s nonverbal signs of comfort or distress (body tension, facial expression)
    — Document changes across weeks (e.g., anxiety scale, mood chart)
    — Stay in attunement; animal sessions may stir grief, resistance, or unexpected emotions

Why This Approach Aligns With Embodied Wellness & Recovery

At Embodied Wellness & Recovery, we understand that healing for children is not only cognitive. We view trauma, nervous system repair, relationships, and even early roots of intimacy as woven from body, brain, and relational experience. AAT is one of many modalities we may integrate when it suits the child’s broader healing journey.

When used thoughtfully, AAT can:

     — Expand trust through physiological regulation
    — Support integration of emotional experience in a safe relational context
    — Serve as an “edge” into deeper relational work
    — Respect that children heal through play, body, and connection, not just words

We never replace core therapeutic grounding with novelty. Instead, we consider AAT when it can serve the trajectory toward regulation, relational safety, and resilience.

A Gentle Bridge from Overwhelm to Relational Safety and Regulation

Animal-assisted therapy for children is promising, compassionate, and fascinating. But it is not a panacea. When combined with sound clinical judgment, responsible ethical practice, and sensitivity to each child’s needs, AAT can offer a gentle bridge from overwhelm into relational safety, regulation, and emotional discovery.

As parents, your role is to be discerning, collaborative with clinical partners, and attuned to your child’s humanity. If you lean into what feels safe and genuine, you're paving a path of love, curiosity, and embodied healing.

May your child be met by paws, hearts, and therapy that invite them home to themselves.

Reach out to schedule a free 20-minute consultation with our team of therapists, trauma specialists, somatic practitioners, or relationship experts, and begin guiding your child towards emotional safety, regulation, and connection today.

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📩 Email us at admin@embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com

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References

1) Arsovski, D. (2024). The role of animal-assisted therapy in rehabilitation. Integrative Medicine Journal.

2) Jalongo, M. R. (2022). Animal-assisted counseling for young children. Frontiers in Psychology / PMC. 

3)  Jennings, M. L., et al. (2021). Effect of animal-assisted interactions on activity and stress. ScienceDirect. 4) Kim, S. (2021). Neurological mechanisms of animal-assisted intervention. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.