Animal Assisted Intervention at The Nelson ARK: A social work placement reflection
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol32iss4id796Keywords:
Animal Assisted Intervention, animal–human relations, social work, social work student education, social work placementAbstract
The involvement of animals in aspects of social work assessments and interventions has been touted as a positive development. Yet, little attention has been given to the potential for animal involvement in social work education and training. This practice reflection describes social work student placements at The Nelson ARK, where Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) is employed in programmes for youth. Social work placement coordinator, Letitia, and The Nelson ARK manager, Karen, provide the background to this initiative, while students, Tessa and Brooke, share a snapshot of their placement experiences that highlight a fresh appreciation of human–animal relations. From our collective experiences, the authors propose that field education in services that provide AAI affords novel and valuable learning for social work students.
References
Adamson, C., & Darroch, J. (2016). When Ida came to class: The inclusion of animals in the social work curriculum. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 18(2), 39–51. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2292/34361
Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers. (2019). Code of ethics (Adopted 30 August 2019). ANZASW National Office. Retrieved from https://anzasw.nz/wp-content/uploads/Code-of-Ethics- Adopted-30-Aug-2019.pdf
Arkow, P. (2020). Human-animal relations and social work: Opportunities beyond the veterinary environment. Child Adolescent Social Work [online 5 September 2020] https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00697-x
Ara Taiohi. (2020). Code of ethics. Retrieved from https://arataiohi.org.nz/career/code-of-ethics/
Bretzlaff-Holstein, C. (2018). The case for humane education in social work education. Social Work Education, 37(7), 924–935. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2018.1468428
Chalmers, D., Dell, C., Dixon, J., Dowling, T., & Hanrahan, C. (2020). Recognizing animals as an important part of helping. Critical Social Work, 21(1), 2–29. https://doi. org/10.22329/csw.v21i1.6224
Evans, N., & Gray, C. (2012). The practice and ethics of animal-assisted therapy with children and young people: Is it enough that we don’t eat our co-workers? The British Journal of Social Work, 42(4), 600–617. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcr091
Hanrahan, C. (2013). Social work and human animal bonds and benefits in health research. Critical Social Work, 14(1), 63–79.https://doi.org/10.22329/csw. v14i1.5873
Ministry of Youth Development. (2004). Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa. Retrieved from http://www.myd.govt. nz/documents/resources-and-reports/publications/ydsa- leaflet-04.pdf
Risley-Curtiss, C. (2010). Social work practitioners and the human-companion animal bond: A national study. Social Work, 55(1), 38–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sw/55.1.38
Ryan, T. (2011). Animals and social work: a moral introduction. Springer. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230306868_1
Walker, P., Aimers, J., & Perry, C. (2015). Animals and social work: An emerging field of practice for Aotearoa New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 27(1–2), 24–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/ anzswj-vol27iss1-2id14
Walker, P., & Tumilty, E. (2019). Developing ethical frameworks in animal-assisted social service delivery in Aotearoa New Zealand. The British Journal of Social Work, 49(1), 163–182. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/ bcy020
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
By completing the online submission process, you confirm you accept this agreement. The following is the entire agreement between you and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) and it may be modified only in writing.
You and any co-authors
If you are completing this agreement on behalf of co-authors, you confirm that you are acting on their behalf with their knowledge.
First publication
By submitting the work you are:
- granting the ANZASW the right of first publication of this work;
- confirming that the work is original; and
- confirming that the work has not been published in any other form.
Once published, you are free to use the final, accepted version in any way, as outlined below under Copyright.
Copyright
You assign copyright in the final, accepted version of your article to the ANZASW. You and any co-authors of the article retain the right to be identified as authors of the work.
The ANZASW will publish the final, accepted manuscript under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows anyone – including you – to share, copy, distribute, transmit, adapt and make commercial use of the work without needing additional permission, provided appropriate attribution is made to the original author or source.
A human-readable summary of the licence is available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, which includes a link to the full licence text.
Under this licence you can use the final, published version of the article freely – such as depositing a copy in your institutional research repository, uploading a copy to your profile on an academic networking site or including it in a different publication, such as a collection of articles on a topic or in conference proceedings – provided that original publication in Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work is acknowledged.
This agreement has no effect on any pre-publication versions or elements, which remain entirely yours, and to which we claim no right.
Reviewers hold copyright in their own comments and should not be further copied in any way without their permission.
The copyright of others
If your article includes the copyright material of others (e.g. graphs, diagrams etc.), you confirm that your use either:
- falls within the limits of fair dealing for the purposes of criticism and review or fair use; OR
- that you have gained permission from the rights holder for publication in an open access journal.
