Lloyd, Janice, Johnston, Laura, and Lewis, Julia (2018) Towards a better understanding of the psychiatric assistance dog team. In: Abstracts from the Australasian Mental Health and Higher Education Conference. p. 28. From: 2nd Australasian Mental Health and Higher Education Conference, 6-7 July 2018, Townsville, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

A psychiatric assistance dog is a specific type of service dog that is trainetf to assist its handler who has been diagnosed with a mental health condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder. tn 2011, the not for profit organisation 'mindDog' was set up in Australia to assist people living with mental health issues to procure, train and certify psychiatric assistance dogs to help them in their daily lives.

Literature searches reveal that little is known about the demographics of people who own psychiatric assistance dogs, the type of dogs used or the functions the dogs provide. An understanding of the relationship between owners and their dogs may help inform the appropriate choice of dog, training and use of assistance dogs for people living with mental health issues to better support their needs.

Psychiatric assistance dog owners registered with 'mindDog' (clients) were invited to participate in an anonymous on-line survey to explore these matters. Preliminary findings suggest psychiatric assistance dogs perform a plethora of roles that support the needs of a broad range of people, including adults in higher education. These general findings can be used to inform clients and medical doctors, who play a pivotal role in their patients' application process for a 'mind Dog', about how the dogs may be of assistance.

Item ID:	54519
Item Type:	Conference Item (Abstract / Summary)
ISBN:	978-0-9954470-9-7
Related URLs:	https://www.jcu.edu.au/amhhec/home
Date Deposited:	15 Aug 2018 01:58
FoR Codes:	13 EDUCATION > 1399 Other Education > 139999 Education not elsewhere classified @ 33% 11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1117 Public Health and Health Services > 111703 Care for Disabled @ 34% 11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences > 119999 Medical and Health Sciences not elsewhere classified @ 33%
SEO Codes:	92 HEALTH > 9202 Health and Support Services > 920209 Mental Health Services @ 50% 93 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 9399 Other Education and Training > 939999 Education and Training not elsewhere classified @ 25% 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970107 Expanding Knowledge in the Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences @ 25%
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