Date of Conferral
2-18-2026
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Counselor Education and Supervision
Advisor
Corinne Bridges
Abstract
Animal Assisted Play Therapy® (AAPT) is a growing therapeutic approach that incorporates a therapy animal into therapy while utilizing the therapeutic powers of play. There is a lack of research on using AAPT with adult clients in an outpatient setting. This needs to be explored so best practices can be developed to ensure that counselors are using AAPT with adults in a safe and ethical manner for both clients and animals. I sought to understand the lived experiences of mental health professionals providing AAPT to adult clients in an outpatient setting through hermeneutic phenomenology. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through interpretative phenomenological analysis. Seven themes emerged from the analysis: increased rapport with clients, the human-animal bond, increased playfulness for the clients, bridge of insight into the client’s behavior, creativity and flexibility of interventions, positives of working with adults, and increased provider preparation and training. Overall, this study showed that providing AAPT to adult clients is beneficial but it needs to be conducted with additional training in order to maintain welfare and ethical standards. The implications for positive social change include the potential for mental health professionals to provide AAPT to adult clients to increase positive benefits for adults with mental illness such as increasing treatment engagement.
Recommended Citation
Unger, Kelsey, "Understanding the Lived Experiences of Mental Health Professionals Providing Animal Assisted Play Therapy® to Adults in an Outpatient Setting" (2026). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 19198.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/19198
