Evaluation of an Animal Assisted Therapy Program in People With Mental Illness, and Promotion of Positive Mental Health

Scientific literature reports that focusing interventions on people with mental health problems, from the threshold of Positive Mental Health, is effective and allows the person to promote positive mental health behaviors. The well-known Animal Assisted Therapy is a complementary intervention used for decades that has reported scientific evidence in the field of mental health in communication, socialization, anxiety and adherence to treatment of patients. This protocol aims to create and evaluate an Assisted Therapy program with dogs in relation to the development and promotion of Positive Mental Health behaviors in people with mental illness in a community rehabilitation service.