Are You and Your Dog Competent? Integrating Animal-Assisted Play Therapy Competencies

Animals routinely join play therapists in their playrooms. These encounters are often occurring with no specific structured competencies within the field to guide ethical practice standards. There is precedent for play therapy practitioners providing clinical care to do so within their scope of practice. Without clear competencies guiding the integration of play therapy and animal-assisted services, play therapists are grappling with what to do and how to navigate the complex skills of attending to animal welfare, human-animal interaction, animal behavior management, zoonotic infection control, and incorporating clinical skills into animal-assisted sessions with children. The purpose of this article is to explore the integration of animal-assisted and play therapy competencies to promote the ethical practice of animal-assisted play therapy (AAPT). This article provides an overview of animal-assisted intervention terms and research, types of assistance animals, and ethics related to developing competence. The authors provide an in-depth review of animal-assisted counseling competencies and how they connect to play therapy competencies, equipping play therapists with knowledge of current standards in the field and considerations for choosing animal-assisted training programs. This article lays a foundation for AAPT competencies to guide standards for registered play therapists to safely and ethically incorporate AAPT into clinical practice.