Teamwork approach represents an important approach in animal-assisted therapy, as it ensures greater interdisciplinarity, more opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and experience, and ensures more effective responses to the complex needs of the users. The master’s thesis examines teamwork between professionals and therapy dogs handlers when working with people with special needs. The purpose of the research was to explore how developed their teamwork skills are, what their attitudes toward teamwork are, and which advantages of teamwork they recognize. We were also interested in their opinion regarding how their personal experiences influence their skills, attitudes, and perception of the advantages of teamwork, and whether professionals and therapy dogs handlers differ in their skills, attitudes, and recognition of the advantages of teamwork. Data were collected using a questionnaire completed by 28 respondents, including 13 therapy dogs handlers and 15 professionals. The results show that both professionals and therapy dogs handlers believe they have well-developed teamwork skills, and they also hold positive attitudes toward teamwork, and recognize the numerous advantages that teamwork brings to both users and practitioners. We did not find any statistically significant differences between professionals and therapy dogs handlers in terms of skills, attitudes toward teamwork, or perceived advantages of teamwork, and both groups of respondents reported that these aspects of teamwork were significantly influenced by their prior experiences. The findings confirm the crucial role of teamwork in the implementation of animal-assisted therapy and provide an important foundation for developing education and training programs for future practitioners. We suggest that such training should include content on team planning, implementation, evaluation, and self-reflection. It is equally important to ensure that both professionals and therapy dogs handlers have a positive initial experience of teamwork and are guided in reflecting on it appropriately. This approach can foster the development of teamwork skills, encourage positive attitudes, and highlight the advantages of teamwork in the practice of dog-assisted therapy.
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