IAHAIO Conference: Animal-Assisted Interventions Make Strides in Education, Therapy, and Social Services

The International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO), founded in 1990, is the world’s largest forum for promoting the benefits of animal-assisted interventions in the fields of science, research, education, and more. The association, which has more than 100,000 members and represents some 70 organizations across five continents, held its 14th triennial conference for the first time in Paris, from July 11 to 13, 2016. Its mission is part of a growing societal interest in animals and their positive effects on human health. Among its many partners, Ceva Animal Health has supported the IAHAIO for six years.   IAHAIO, dedicated to the study of human-animal interactions, holds an international conference every three years. At each event, leading figures in animal-assisted interventions gather to share the latest advances—backed by quantitative and qualitative research methods—update their theoretical approaches, and approve recommendations related to animal-assisted activities and therapies. At the 2016 conference in Paris, the benefits of animal presence within the context of new care practices were examined, allowing for the exploration of new areas related to the cognitive approach, emotions, and animal behavior. Various international approaches to the relationship between violence toward animals and interpersonal violence were reviewed. Emphasis was also placed on well-being—for both humans and animals—as well as on the prospects and new roles of animal-assisted intervention for veterinarians, medical professionals, psychologists, physical therapists, ethologists, social workers, biologists, animal husbandry specialists, etc . In France, since the first experiments involving the introduction of pets into nursing homes, hundreds of projects have already been launched over the past fifteen years, helping to improve the lives of hospitalized patients, children, people with disabilities or the elderly, at-risk youth or those in rehabilitation, inmates, and military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. The range of applications for animal-assisted therapy is broad. Once again this year, Ceva Animal Health has continued its commitment to the IAHAIO in support of animal-assisted therapies, which has led it to become directly involved in two innovative projects, one in central France and the other in southern Sweden:

• Neurologist Didier Vernay of the University of Clermont-Ferrand and equine psychotherapist Cécile Cardon have designed a therapeutic program for people with multiple sclerosis, aimed at guiding other centers in selecting the right tools to implement best practices;
• Lis-Lott Andersson, founder of the Humlamaden rehabilitation center, helps patients with various illnesses recover through canine and equine-assisted therapy.

  Based on IAHAIO’s recommendations, Ceva brought these two teams together to establish standards governing animal-assisted therapy and animal welfare. For Marie-José Enders-Slegers, president of IAHAIO, the goal is “to work, in the coming years, to expand cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and practices in order to support organizations toward greater professionalization in the field of animal-assisted intervention .” This involves, in particular, advances in recognition and training: accreditation, programs, evolving practices and educational initiatives, the sustainability of these efforts, and, of course, ethical considerations.