From Exposure to Engagement: Animal-Assisted Therapy in Evidence-Based Treatment

By: Catherine Tamayo, MS, LPCC

In cognitive and emotional health treatment, much of the work centers on learning how to approach what feels uncomfortable while gradually building a sense of inner security and management. Whether it involves trauma reminders, contamination fears, or intrusive thoughts, therapy often means practicing how to face internal and external cues that trigger distress—without avoidance or escape.

At Mind Matters Collective (MMC), we continue to explore ways to strengthen evidence-based care while maintaining clinical precision. One area of focus includes the integration of animal-assisted therapy into structured, measurable, and ethically implemented interventions that complement existing treatment modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

The Foundation of Animal-Assisted Behavioral Interventions

When implemented correctly, animal-assisted interventions can align with the same behavioral principles that guide exposure, desensitization, and reinforcement learning. The goal is not to provide comfort or distraction, but to assist clients to remain present and engaged during difficult moments in therapy.

This approach reflects the foundation of all evidence-based treatment—shaping behavior through gradual exposure, distress tolerance, and reinforcement of adaptive responses. In clinical settings, trained animals can serve as consistent cues that model calm behavior, encourage approach rather than avoidance, and help clients engage in real-time behavioral learning within a structured framework.

If you’re curious about how this process develops in practice, meet Sunny, a service dog in training at MMC. He is currently completing pre-service training focused on behavioral conditioning, graded exposure, and preparation for certification before joining the therapeutic environment Click Here to Learn More About Sunny (bottom of the pg).

Training and Application

Service training for therapy animals emphasizes the same behavioral processes that underlie effective cognitive and emotional health interventions:

• Task-based behavioral conditioning and cue reliability

• Controlled desensitization and graded exposure protocols

• Environmental acclimation to therapy settings

When integrated into clinical work, a trained therapy animal may assist clinicians by:

• Supporting physiological regulation during acute trauma-focused or PTSD treatment

• Participating in structured ERP exercises for OCD and phobia treatment, helping clients face anxiety-provoking cues without reassurance or avoidance

• Reinforcing behavioral activation for clients whose anxiety, depression or low motivation limits daily functioning

• Supporting mindfulness and distress-tolerance skills practiced within behavioral frameworks such as CBT, DBT, or ACT

At MMC, Sunny’s future role in evidence-based treatment will involve structured participation in these types of interventions—always under professional supervision, with defined therapeutic objectives and careful documentation of outcomes.

Ethical and Clinical Oversight

The integration of animal-assisted approaches at MMC follows the same ethical and clinical standards as all evidence-based interventions. Each task or behavior taught to the therapy animal serves a specific therapeutic function and is supported by research on exposure, learning theory, and emotion regulation.

All training and clinical participation occur under the direction of a licensed clinician, with clear documentation maintained for ethical, clinical, and compliance purposes. The intention is not trend but precision—enhancing treatment engagement and outcomes through scientifically supported methods.

Looking Ahead

As the field of cognitive and emotional health continues to evolve, structured animal-assisted therapy represents a growing area of research and clinical innovation. When aligned with behavioral principles and guided by trained professionals, these interventions have the potential to increase treatment engagement in the early phases of therapy as clients begin developing inner security and self-regulation skills. Over time, these skills are strengthened and internalized, allowing clients to rely increasingly on their own learned strategies rather than external cues.

At Mind Matters Collective, we remain committed to pairing compassion with evidence-based integrity—meeting each client where they’re at while supporting them in learning how to approach, engage, and live fully in the presence of fear, distress, and the challenges of change.

References

Abramowitz, J. S., McKay, D., & Storch, E. A. (2019). Exposure Therapy for Anxiety: Principles and Practice. Guilford Press.
Chandler, C. K. (2021). Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counseling (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Kazdin, A. E. (2017). Understanding How Animals Help: Mechanisms for Therapeutic Change. American Psychologist.