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Volume 6, Issue 6 (Suppl) J Psychol Psychother
ISSN: 2161-0487 JPP, an open access journal Psychosomatic Medicine 2016
December 05-06, 2016
December 05-06, 2016 Dubai, UAE
3rd International Conference on
Psychiatry & Psychosomatic Medicine
J Psychol Psychother 2016, 6:6 (Suppl)
Exploring the role of dog assistance program on Negative Emotion in people experiencing Mental
Health issues: Shame, Guilt, and psychological distress
Elizabeth Maitland
Recovery Assistance Dogs, Leicester, United Kingdon
Background: In the field of mental health, guilt and shame are transdiagnostic problems. Studies have found shame, guilt distress,
and guilt cognitions as relevant features of mental illnesses. Despite the argument for significant correlations addressing these issues,
the evidence regarding intervention strategies for dealing these symptoms is lacking.
Importance of Dog assisted support program: The quality of the therapeutic relationship is of prime importance in working with
these experiences. Individuals with mental health problems do not easily share their feelings of guilt, still less their feelings of shame.
Trained animals are used to benefit patients suffering with emotional and behavioral disorders, depression, autism, substance abuse,
and dementia. we examined whether dog assisted therapy could overcome shame, guilt and psychological distress in people with
mental health issues.
Methods: Present study retrospectively examined the impact of dog assistance program on the shame, guilt and psychological distress
in people with mental health issues. Thirty-eight participants who were supported by dog assistance program from year 2010 to
2015 in RECOVERY assistance dog, UK were analyzed. Scale assessing guilt, shame and distress used 0-10 score where lower score
represent lesser severity of variable. Dogs were trained by trainers specializing in mental health and all the participants completed the
assessments before and after the 12 week of dog assistance.
Results: Negative emotions and symptoms were assessed before and after 12 weeks having assistance dogs. Results revealed that
Shame and guilt proneness had significant reduction (p<0.001) with psychological distress (p<0.0001). Our results suggest that
avoidant symptoms might decrease earlier than other distress symptoms during the initial phase and acceptance play an important
role in the initial change of negative emotions.
Conclusion: Dog assisted support could be an effective approach to deal with negative emotions and distress among people with
mental illnesses, and is likely to be an important component of any evidenced-based approach to intervention.
Childhood Trauma, Adult Pain
Michelle Atchison
Psychiatrist, Australia
Judith Herman first described the concept of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 1992 to describe a constellation of
psychiatric symptoms in children exposed to repeated, severe childhood trauma. Difficulties include longterm problems with affect
regulation, dissociation and chronic physical symptoms. This talk aims to explore the links between severe and repeated childhood
trauma and the robust research and clinical findings of an incresed prevalence of many adult chronic illnesses, including chronic pain
and somatatisation. Childhood trauma occurs at a developmentally imoprtant time, both for the brain, but also for hormonal and
immunicological systems. The imoprtance of physicians taking a developmental history, especially in cases of difficult to diagnose or
manage physical illness is empahsised.