Multispecies Interaction in Dog-Assisted Therapy Sessions

Abstract

In the article, we examine dog-assisted therapy sessions in triadic terms, as a constellation between three agents. The prevalent model of the therapeutic relationship is the two-person model. The article contests such dyadic and anthropocentric understanding by emphasising the role of ‘the third’ in the interactions between client and therapist from a multispecies perspective. Our analysis draws on technologically mediated participant observation of dog-assisted therapy sessions supplemented by ethnographic interviews with therapists. By stressing the integral role of the dog in the therapeutic relationship, we ultimately try to bridge together two different traditions of thinking the third, one focused on third-party human agents, the other on third-party things. Ultimately, the article suggests that engaging with dog-assisted therapy offers a means to extend the thinking of triads beyond human relationships into multispecies interaction.