Master of Arts (Counselling & Guidance)

This study explored the impact of an animal assisted therapy (AAT) group programme on the level of social-emotional competence of female adolescent survivors of abuse who were receiving treatment at a residential facility. By adopting the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach which included: personal interviews with the girls and the AAT therapist, thematic analysis and document analysis of the therapist’s case notes, 17 themes were generated. These themes provided insight into the AAT programme conducted with the girls. The AAT therapist’s goals and the girls’ perceptions of intervention aided in a holistic understanding of AAT as an intervention. Major aspects of the intervention explored were: Therapeutic experience, therapeutic alliance, therapeutic intentions and therapeutic strategies. Findings suggested that the AAT therapist’s goals and the girls’ perceptions of intervention were mostly similar. The study also seemed to show that the AAT group programme had a meaningful impact on the girls and could be a viable form of treatment for female adolescent survivors of abuse in Singapore.