Animal-assisted intervention, or A-A-I, includes three types of animal interactions beneficial to people.

An example of animal-assisted therapy is using animals during counseling sessions. Animal-assisted activities use animals to decrease stressors — for example, in visits to hospital patients. In animal-assisted education, animals are used to improve educational activities — for example, in reading programs.

Mental health professionals agree that AAIs are calming and great for stimulating social connections, fostering emotional awareness and boosting academic success. And just to ensure such interactions work for the animals too — and we’re talking about a variety of species — the American Veterinary Medical Association has developed best practices for AAIs.