O surgimento das Intervenções Assistidas por Animais no Brasil: o que podemos aprender com Nise da Silveira?

Leonardo Ferreira Almada; Rodrigo Sanches Peres

doi:10.35699/1676-1669.2026.54005

Authors

Leonardo Ferreira Almada Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9777-5667
Rodrigo Sanches Peres Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2957-7554

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35699/1676-1669.2026.54005

Keywords:

Nise da Silveira, Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs), Mental health

Abstract

This paper aims to present Nise da Silveira’s observations about interactions between her patients and non-human animals, especially cats and dogs. In the first part of the text, we will establish a brief historical overview of the conceptions about the role attributed to non-human animals in human health. In the second part, we will convey Nise’s considerations on the subject. Our hypothesis is that Nise, betting on the therapeutic potential of the emotional bonds that can be established between humans and non-human animals, pioneered new paths in the field of mental health and, thus, established coordinates that were later relevant to the emergence and development of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) in Brazil.

Author Biographies

Leonardo Ferreira Almada, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

Leonardo Ferreira Almada is Professor of Philosophy (Associate Level IV) at the Institute of Philosophy at the Federal University of Uberlândia (IFILO-UFU, Uberlândia-MG) and at the Postgraduate Program in Philosophy (Doctorate and Master's Degree) at the Federal University of Uberlândia (POSFIL -UFU, Uberlândia-MG), where he has worked since 2011 with Teaching, Research, Guidance and Extension. He has a degree (Bachelor's degree, 1999-2002) in Philosophy from the Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IFCS-UFRJ), having defended, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Luiz Alberto Cerqueira, Course Conclusion Paper entitled "Farias Brito Contemporâneo de Husserl". He is a student (2022-) in Psychology at the Federal University of Uberlândia (IP-UFU), where he is studying, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Sanches Peres, Scientific Initiation Research entitled "The Paradoxical 'Disease of Normality': the Concept of Normopathy in the Psychoanalytic Perspective of Joyce McDougall". He previously carried out Scientific Initiation Research (2022-2023) entitled "The Concept of Consciousness in the light of Experimental Cognitive Psychology", under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Ederaldo Lopes. He holds a Master's degree in Philosophy (2003-2005) from the Postgraduate Program in Philosophy at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (PPGF-UFRJ), having defended, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Luiz Alberto Cerqueira, Master's Thesis entitled "Ontological Sense of Evil in Santo Agostinho". He holds a PhD in Philosophy (2006-2009) from the Postgraduate Program in Philosophy at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (PPGF-UFRJ), having defended, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Luiz Alberto Cerqueira, Doctoral Thesis entitled "The Idea of Philosophy as a Science of the Spirit in Brazil". He carried out 3 Post-Doctoral Research Periods: (i) 2009-2011, at Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP, Botucatu-SP), under the Supervision of Prof. Dr. Alfredo Pereira Junior, with research entitled "The Proposal for an Affective Neuroscience: an Epistemological Analysis of the Taxonomy of Human Emotions Prepared by Jaak Panksepp"; (ii) 2016-2017, at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG, Goiânia-GO), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. André Porto, with research entitled "The Organism as the foundation of the Conscious Mind: Integration and Interaction Relations between Brain, Own Body and Environment"; (iii) 2022-2023, at the University of São Paulo (USP, São Paulo-SP), under the Supervision of Prof. Dr. Osvaldo Frota Pessoa Junior, with research entitled "The Organism as the foundation of the Conscious Mind: an Embodied and Emergentist Perspective on the Problem of Consciousness-Mind-Brain-Body-Environment Relations". Today, his general research interests revolve around Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Psychosomatics, Analytical Psychology and Phenomenology. His current research is entitled "The Paradoxical 'Disease of Normality': the Concept of Normopathy in the Psychoanalytic Perspective of Joyce McDougall". Throughout his training and his career with Research, Teaching, Guidance and Extension in Philosophy and Psychology, he was mainly involved with the Problem of Mind-Body Relations. He has experience in the areas of Philosophy of Mind (or Consciousness), Philosophy of Neurosciences, Philosophy of Psychology, Philosophy of Psychiatry, Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences, Phenomenology, Neurophenomenology, Ethics and Medieval Philosophy. He coordinates the "Study and Research Group 'Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Psychosomatics, Analytical Psychology and Phenomenology'".
Rodrigo Sanches Peres, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

Rodrigo Sanches Peres holds a degree in Psychology from Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). He is a Specialist in Clinical Psychology certified by the Federal Council of Psychology (CFP). He earned his Master's and PhD in Psychology from the University of São Paulo (USP) and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Lisbon (UL). He is a full-time professor in the Graduate Program in Psychology at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) and a volunteer professor in the Graduate Program in Psychology at Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). He was a visiting professor at the University of Coimbra in 2017. He is the leader of the Laboratory of Psychology, Psychoanalysis, and Health, and a researcher at the Laboratory of Teaching and Research in Health Psychology, both registered in the Brazilian Research Groups Directory. He coordinates the working group on Psychoanalysis and Expanded Clinical Practice of the National Association of Research and Graduate Studies in Psychology (ANPEPP). He has served as an Associate Editor for Tempo Psicanalítico since 2018 and Paidéia from 2012 to 2014. He is a Research Productivity Fellow of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

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The emergence of animal-assisted interventions in Brazil

what can we learn from Nise da Silveira?

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