The biological and psychological basis of pet therapy / animal-assisted therapyand what this means for practice"A comprehensive, scientific foundation for human-animal therapy."(Judith Solomon)In recent years, the ancient symbiosis between humans and their pets has entereda new phase, marked by the burgeoning clinical specialty of human-animaltherapy. This approach uses the relationship between humans and their (mainly)mammalian pets to support the growth of emotion regulation, social skills, andmental health in children, adolescents, and adults.But how are humans and animals able to develop close bonds at all? What makesit possible for animals to have a therapeutic effect on humans? And how can webest use this understanding in animal-assisted therapy?In this unique book, a team of expert biologists and psychologists integrate andcombine sophisticated biological and psychological knowledge to answer thesequestions. Together they have created a comprehensive, scientific foundation forhuman-animal therapy, a foundation that will facilitate the development, implementation,and evaluation of effective new interventions.