Australian psychologists' knowledge of and attitudes towards animal‐assisted therapy

Background: Research on registered psychologists’ knowledge of and attitudes toward Animal‐Assisted Therapy (AAT) is virtually nonexistent.Aim: To explore Australian psychologists' knowledge of and attitudes toward AAT.Materials and Methods: This paper presents a thematic analysis of qualitative data collected from 9 psychologists speaking about AAT during individual interviews.Results: The first research question explored psychologists’ knowledge of AAT and identified 3 key themes: AAT use across the client lifespan in various health settings; training is inadequate; and efficacy studies are lacking. The second question exploring psychologists’ attitudes towards AAT identified further themes: AAT enhances therapeutic relationships; AAT used purposefully or incidentally is effective; and there are barriers to AAT implementation.Conclusion: Whilst AAT is deemed to be a useful intervention by some psychologists, its evidence base and training in such interventions are lacking.