Paw Pause

02/09/2026

Eddie has had enough of the cooler weather and is looking forward to attending a few conferences and educational sites in the Northern states again soon. If your site hasn’t contacted us yet, please do. Bookings now open for Term 1, 2027 🐾

02/09/2026

28/08/2026

Happy 8th birthday to our CEO and main man Eddie 🎂🌟

25/08/2026

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Research Spotlight | Animal-Assisted Services & Student Mental Health

Can spending time with an animal make a measurable difference to the mental health of university and higher education students?

A systematic review and meta-analysis by Huber and colleagues provides encouraging evidence that it can.

Researchers examined 35 randomised controlled trials investigating animal-assisted services for higher education students. Almost all of the studies involved dogs, and most were assessed as being of moderate methodological quality.

What did they find?

The clearest benefits were for mental health, particularly:

• reduced acute anxiety
• reduced stress
• smaller but beneficial effects across other mental health outcomes.

The authors concluded that animal-assisted services in higher education settings can be effective in improving students’ mental health and appear particularly effective for reducing acute feelings of anxiety and stress.

For universities and other higher education providers, this research adds to the evidence supporting thoughtfully designed animal-assisted programs as one potential strategy for supporting student wellbeing and mental health.

Research: Huber A, Klug SJ, Abraham A, et al. Animal-Assisted Interventions Improve Mental, But Not Cognitive or Physiological Health Outcomes of Higher Education Students: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 22, 1597–1628. The article was first published online in November 2022 and appeared in Volume 22 in 2024.

Read the open-access research
⁠ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-022-00945-4 

16/08/2026

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NEW RESEARCH: What does the strongest evidence tell us about animal-assisted therapy?

A new 2026 meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials adds to the growing evidence supporting the inclusion of animals in professional therapeutic services.

Published in the Journal of Global Health, researchers brought together evidence from randomised controlled trials examining the psychological and physical effects of animal-assisted therapy in adults.

The findings were particularly encouraging for psychological wellbeing.

Across the studies, animal-assisted therapy was associated with significant improvements in:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Stress

Animal-assisted therapy should not be viewed as a single intervention that produces the same benefits for every person or every condition. Rather, the evidence suggests that outcomes can depend on the population, the therapeutic goal and how the animal is incorporated into the intervention.

For Animal Therapies Ltd, research like this reinforces an important principle: animals can be a valuable modality within professional practice when they are appropriately selected and incorporated into evidence-based services delivered within the practitioner’s scope of practice.

It also highlights why we need to move beyond simply asking, “Does animal-assisted therapy work?”

A better question is:

For whom, for what outcome, and under what circumstances can incorporating an animal improve the delivery or outcome of a professional service?

Research:
Shih et al. (2026), Animal-assisted therapy on psychological and physical outcomes: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Journal of Global Health.

🔗 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42466625/

15/08/2026

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Are you an allied health professional with your trained therapy dog looking for a change? Paw Pause teams deliver animal-assisted therapy in schools and we need you. We have a wait list of schools and preschools and we need more therapists and therapy dogs who are ready to deliver our quality programs in schools. Contact Niki - details in the link in bio.

occupationaltherapy occupationaltherapist OT socialworker socialwork speechpathologist pyschology psychologist psychotherapy psychotherapist counsellor counselling

Image description: White text on a teal background.
Paw Pause Animal Assisted Therapy with the logo.
WE ARE HIRING

13/08/2026

Are you an allied health professional with your trained therapy dog looking for a change? Paw Pause teams deliver animal-assisted therapy in schools and we need you. We have a wait list of schools and preschools and we need more therapists and therapy dogs who are ready to deliver our quality programs in schools. Contact Niki - details in the link in bio.

occupationaltherapy occupationaltherapist OT socialworker socialwork speechpathologist pyschology psychologist psychotherapy psychotherapist counsellor counselling

Image description: White text on a teal background.
Paw Pause Animal Assisted Therapy with the logo.
WE ARE HIRING

11/08/2026

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A newly published systematic review in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry provides encouraging evidence that Animal-Assisted Services (AAS) can make a meaningful difference for school-aged children when incorporated into professional service delivery.

After reviewing the available research, the authors found that Animal-Assisted Services were associated with improvements in:
• Emotional wellbeing
• Anxiety
• Social interaction
• Behavioural regulation
• School engagement

Importantly, the review emphasises that the greatest benefits are achieved when animals are incorporated into evidence-based practice delivered by appropriately qualified professionals, while maintaining high standards of animal welfare and ethical practice.

This research reinforces what many practitioners observe in practice—animals can help create safe, engaging environments that support learning, emotional regulation and meaningful participation.

Read the full research here:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00787-025-02740-7