Analyse de dix recherches sur la thérapie assistée par l'animal : quelle méthodologie pour quels effets ?

In recent decades a growing number of studies have concerned animal-assisted therapy. There remains however much confusion in this field of research, mainly due to the large number of terms employed. After an attempt to clarify the definition of animal-assisted therapy and a brief history of this concept, we were interested in examining the relevance and the rigor of the methodologies used in ten programs of animal-assisted therapy, dating from the last five years. The characteristics of the animals used as co-therapists, those of the subjects and the therapeutic process itself were analyzed. Results obtained from these ten programs were discussed based on several methodological criteria. Nowadays, heterogeneity characterizes animal-assisted therapy. There is considerable variability in terms of animal species used as co-therapists and the nature of diagnosis and age of patients. As a result, programs are hard to compare. Very few studies reach a certain level of methodological rigor and use a control group or consider related factors that might explain the benefits observed in contact with the animal. Thus if the results show a behavioral and psychological improvement in the presence of animals, some caution remains in the interpretation of these data.