Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) as an Adjunctive Treatment for Eating Disorders: A Qualitative Exploration
Location
1047
Format Type
Event
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
January 2019
End Date
January 2019
Abstract
The current research aimed to test the hypothesis of whether AAT relates to important aspects of attachment experience and affect regulation abilities – areas associated with the diagnosis of eating disorders. Because AAT can activate the attachment system and provide new opportunities for experiencing affect, the current study hypothesized that AAT may offer helpful additions to eating disorder treatment.
Forty in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with self-identified female adults (ages 21 – 40) who were diagnosed with an eating disorder in the last ten years and used AAT in their ED treatment. Interviews elicited participants’ experience of AAT, including how they thought the AAT impacted with their ED treatment and their ED. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded thematically using NVivo qualitative software, guided by the principles of grounded theory.
Findings highlight that the relational comfort afforded through experiencing the animal as unconditional, nonjudgmental, intuitive, and safe may have led to an impact on emotions, treatment experience, relational learning, and affective regulation.
This paper presentation will highlight my completed qualitative study and, specifically, focus on my qualitative research methods, analytical techniques using NVivo software, and an overview of the techniques (i.e. concept maps) used to organized and analyze my data.
Keywords
Animal-Assisted Therapy, Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia, Eating Disorder Treatment, AAT, Qualitative
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) as an Adjunctive Treatment for Eating Disorders: A Qualitative Exploration
1047
The current research aimed to test the hypothesis of whether AAT relates to important aspects of attachment experience and affect regulation abilities – areas associated with the diagnosis of eating disorders. Because AAT can activate the attachment system and provide new opportunities for experiencing affect, the current study hypothesized that AAT may offer helpful additions to eating disorder treatment.
Forty in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with self-identified female adults (ages 21 – 40) who were diagnosed with an eating disorder in the last ten years and used AAT in their ED treatment. Interviews elicited participants’ experience of AAT, including how they thought the AAT impacted with their ED treatment and their ED. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded thematically using NVivo qualitative software, guided by the principles of grounded theory.
Findings highlight that the relational comfort afforded through experiencing the animal as unconditional, nonjudgmental, intuitive, and safe may have led to an impact on emotions, treatment experience, relational learning, and affective regulation.
This paper presentation will highlight my completed qualitative study and, specifically, focus on my qualitative research methods, analytical techniques using NVivo software, and an overview of the techniques (i.e. concept maps) used to organized and analyze my data.
Comments
Breakout Session D