Abstract:
In recent years, there has been a global advancement in the offering of canine-assisted interventions (CAI) in prisons. However, these programs have focused primarily on the benefits to the dogs involved and not on the impact on the participants. The authors of this perspective study have been running a CAI program with therapy dogs, called PAWSitive Support, in a Canadian federal prison since 2016. Thoughts from the program facilitators and interviews with prison staff indicate that the program, and specifically the therapy dogs, provides a unique and integrated source of comfort, support, and love for participants. These benefits are consistent with those seen in CAI programs outside of prisons. Unique to the prison setting appears to be an improvement in participant-staff relations. The therapy dogs have helped participants to experience comfort and consequently express their emotions. This seems to contribute to their recognition of support within the prison system and specifically developing trust with staff. Additionally, the dogs have helped to create an experience of the feeling of love within the prison, interpreted as the feeling of being cared for, which is rare for this population. The authors suggest that the integration of a therapy dog intervention in prison could be a novel harm reduction strategy to address issues related to prisonization and associated mental health concerns, including substance use. This consideration can offer unique insight into the field of forensic psychiatry about providing compassionate care to patients.
摘要:
近年来,在监狱中提供犬辅助干预措施(CAI)方面取得了全球进展.然而,这些计划主要集中在对所涉及的狗的好处,而不是对参与者的影响。这项前瞻性研究的作者一直在对治疗犬进行CAI程序,称为PAWSitive支持,自2016年以来在加拿大联邦监狱。计划主持人的想法和对监狱工作人员的采访表明,该计划,特别是治疗犬,提供了一个独特的和集成的舒适来源,支持,对参与者的爱。这些好处与监狱以外的CAI计划中看到的好处是一致的。监狱环境的独特之处似乎是参与者与工作人员关系的改善。治疗犬帮助参与者体验舒适,从而表达他们的情绪。这似乎有助于他们认可监狱系统内的支持,特别是与工作人员建立信任。此外,这些狗在监狱里创造了一种爱的感觉,被解释为被照顾的感觉,这对这个人群来说是罕见的。作者认为,在监狱中整合治疗犬干预可能是一种新颖的减少伤害的策略,以解决与监狱化和相关的心理健康问题有关的问题。包括物质使用。这种考虑可以为法医精神病学领域提供独特的见解,为患者提供富有同情心的护理。