From the author: Lasovskaya (Bugaeva), E.I. Animal-assisted therapy as a special type of psychotherapeutic assistance / E.I. Lasovskaya (Bugaeva) // Economic, medical-social and chemical-pharmaceutical problems of the 21st century: materials of interuniversity. scientific-practical stud. conf. within the framework of the 65th scientific. conf. stud. and graduate students of BSU, Minsk, May 22, 2008 / Belarus. state University; Editorial Board: E.N. Smirnova [and others]. – Minsk, 2008. – pp. 76-79. At the moment, there are many types of psychotherapy, and among this variety one can distinguish the so-called natural therapy - the use of nature as an independent therapeutic method, in which art and nature act as a therapeutic factor. Psychologists and psychotherapists identify animal therapy as an independent part of nature therapy, which can be defined as a type of psychotherapy that uses animals and their images to provide psychotherapeutic assistance [1]. Avicenna was the first to mention in his writings that animals are capable of healing people. This type of psychological assistance became quite widespread abroad and began to be used in Russia [2]. Thus, the International Conferences on Human-Animal Interaction, held in Switzerland and New York, are attracting increasing attention and are marked by increasing participation from psychologists and psychotherapists. Researchers studying interactions between people, animals and the natural environment find it very difficult to overestimate the importance animals in people's lives. According to an annual study conducted by the Pet Food Institute (PFI), the number of domestic cats and dogs in the United States grew significantly in 2002, reaching 137.5 million animals. Moreover, the number of domestic cats reached its highest level of 76.8 million animals, and the number of dogs - 60.7 million. The study found that 55% of American families own a cat or dog. Moreover, 15% of families own both a cat and a dog at the same time [4]. In 1991, the Hope Project in England found that even homeless people often manage to provide their animals with proper care for the warmth and acceptance they receive in return, which is very important to these people. Animals often appear in art: comics , postcards, fairy tales, folklore, music, photography, cinema. So, already in the medieval tragic story, the knight Tristan, dying of melancholy in separation from Isolde, is brought back to life by the Petit Cru dog. Now, when our life is unthinkable without television, one of the leading places in the ratings is occupied by programs about animals. In practice, as many researchers believe, we have reached the stage where therapy using animals is a real alternative to already well-known types of psychotherapy [1]. The importance of animals for people’s well-being is becoming more and more obvious. This is especially important in modern conditions: never before have so many people been deprived of healthy relationships with others. More and more people are living alone, many married couples are deciding not to have children, and many are getting divorced. Most parents work, often far from home, and children mainly spend time in kindergarten, school, and at home most often watch TV or play computer games. This leads to an ever-increasing number of depression, stress, loneliness and various diseases in a significant part of our society [6]. And in this situation, many psychologists and psychotherapists believe, communication with animals and therapy based on this can help. Research conducted in Croatia, aimed at identifying the psychological well-being of children, showed that 98% of children consider their animals to be very important members of the family, and 88% of children are confident that animals understand when their owners are sick or upset [3; 5]. Research conducted in America showed that in 70 nursing homes where animals were allowed, elderly people