Aliki Melistas graduated in 2023 with a degree in Clinical Psychology from Ghent University and is currently pursuing a PhD at the RIDDL lab. Her doctoral research, the QOALA-Project (Quality Of Autistic children's Life through Animal-assisted therapy), focuses on exploring Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) as a potential approach to improve the quality of life for children and adolescents with autism. Aliki's interest lies in understanding if and how animals can contribute to human well-being. Her master's thesis on Equine-Assisted Therapy and its impact on children with learning disorders highlighted the need for more research in this area. This led her to her current project, aiming to gain deeper insights into this relatively unexplored therapeutic approach.
