For many humans, a pet provides unconditional love and affection. Others experience an overwhelming, calming sensation when they are around animals. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, studies have shown that because of these positive emotions, the presence and interaction with animals can lower heart rate and blood pressure. Animals that meet specific training criteria can become an integral part of a treatment process for a variety of psychological and physiological problems. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual setting, is designed to promote improvement in a human's physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses trained in AAT have been examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that adequate training and repeated sessions were necessary to adequately treat patients. Additionally, some disorders may benefit more from AAT than others. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from the presence of a therapy dog, as it may worsen hyperactivity symptoms. On the other hand, a depressed patient can benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point for answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT show improvement in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions… half of the article… ....dren with pervasive developmental disorders." Western Journal of Nursing Research 24.6 (2002): 657-70. Print.Motomura, Naoyasu, Takayoshi Yagi, and Hitomi Ohyama. "Animal-Assisted Therapy for People with Dementia." Psychogeriatrics 4.2 (2004): 40-42. Print. Tyberg, Amy and William H. Frishman. "Chapter 6 - Animal-Assisted Therapy." Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Pain Management S. Micozzi New York: Springer Pub., 2008. 115-24. Print. O'Conner-Von, Susan. "Chapter 14 - Animal-Assisted Therapy." 2010. 207-23. Mario Mikulincer and Phillip R. Shaver “Pets in the Therapy Room: An Attachment Perspective on Animal-Assisted Therapy.” Human Development 13.6 (2011): 541-61. Press.