Animals That Help People With Depression

Animals may be used in animal-assisted therapy (AAT), as Emotional Support Animals (ESA) or as Psychiatric Service Animals (PSA) to therapeutically intervene, provide companionship and reduce suffering of people with a variety of psychological and medical disorders. They help the depressed by offering opportunities for exercise (which improves feelings of well-being), social contact, companionship, communication and emotional intimacy.
Dogs and Cats

Dogs and cats are among the most popular pets used to help individuals with depression. They have been known to elevate mood by providing people with close companionship. Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSD) are specially trained to perform tasks that help people with major depression. They are distinguished from Emotional Support Dogs who are not trained for disorder-specific work. For example, a PSD can be trained to respond to an attempted suicide in his depressed owner by pushing a button on a special phone that notifies 911.
Farm Animals

In an issue of Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, Bente Berge and colleagues describe their findings from a study in which individuals with depression and other psychological disorders worked with farm animals, including sheep, horses, dairy cows and cattle, poultry, rabbits and pigs as part of a psychological treatment regimen. At follow-up studies, self-efficacy was significantly higher, particularly among those with affective disorders like depression. Coping was also greatly improved among those with the highest rises in self-efficacy.

Equine Assisted Therapy (EAP), using horses, may also be effective for those who are depressed. In the 2007 issue of Society and Animals, Bradley T. Klontz and his colleagues reported on a treatment study involving equine-assisted experiential therapy. At the conclusion of the study, participants reported reduced psychological distress and enhanced well being. Improvements were stable at a six-month follow-up.
Birds

There are anecdotal reports of individuals reporting benefits from owning parrots and other pet birds. In 1997, a study published in Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals revealed that elderly men who were exposed to an aviary at the Veterans Administration Medical Center showed a reduction in depression. It is thought that birds may offer an opportunity for communication and social contact that lifts mood.
Dolphins

Dophin Assisted Therapy (DAT) is one of the most extensively researched areas of AAT and is commonly used among special-needs children. In 2005, researchers Christian Antonioli and Michael A. Reveley published findings from their research in the British Medical Journal reporting that mild and moderately depressed individuals showed improvement after swimming with dolphins for two weeks.
Small Animals, Fish and Reptiles

Guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, fish and even reptiles may help lower blood pressure, reduce stress and improve self-efficacy. More research is needed to determine the way in which these animals can assist depressed persons.

Original article can be found here.