Animal-assisted therapy for depression

Dogs as therapists in depression? The Center for Mental Health at the Marienheide Clinic is currently investigating the benefits of animal-assisted therapy for depression.

21.01.2011

Can depression be treated with the help of dogs? In a study at the Center for Mental Health at the Marienheide Clinic in Gummersbach, the possibilities of animal-assisted therapy for the treatment of people with depression are being investigated for the first time.

Under the head physician of the general psychiatry of the hospital Marienheide, Dr. med. Andreas Sobottka, is the world's first scientific study on animal-assisted human therapy. Six dogs will be used over a period of eight weeks for the treatment of depressive patients. The results of the treatment are documented in detail by means of questionnaires in detail, then evaluated in a comprehensive study and in the specialist journal „The neurologist“ published, explained Dr. Andreas Sobottka.

Treat depression through therapies with dogs
„There is evidence that dealing with animals reduces stress and anxiety, contributes to improving self-confidence, has calming effects, lowers high blood pressure, reduces cortisol levels in the blood, and reduces the sensation of pain“, explained Dr. Sobottka. But scientifically sound evidence for the positive effect of depression does not exist according to the expert. The physicians at the hospital in Marienheide now want to change this with their study. The professional dog trainer Mareike Doll-Degenhardt will come to the Center for Mental Health twice a week with four dogs, where in the next eight weeks 60 patients with mental illnesses in addition to the normal therapy times, a little time with the dogs Buddy, Penny & Co should spend. From now on, the group of the first 15 patients will be treated twice a week with a half-hour additional therapy session with the dogs. Sobottka. After four weeks of dog therapy, four weeks follow conventional treatment, with a second group being treated in parallel first without additional therapy and then after four weeks with dog therapy.

Patients should face challenges together with dogs
The dog trainer Doll-Degenhardt operates in Wermelskirchen a dog school and a breed for Australian Working Kelpie, an avid, yet quiet dog breed with high intelligence and independence. Australian Working Kelpie enjoy working and learning, are responsive to people and can cope well with stress, explained the dog trainer. In everyday life Buddy, Penny and the other dogs take care of the sheep of Mareike Doll-Degenhardt. But in therapy, they should now play with the depressed patients and work, with each patient has virtually his own dog or in the therapy hours always works with the same dog. The experts have „put together different exercises“, the sessions can also be designed individually - „depending on how dog and human are on it“, stressed Sobottka. For example, patients with fears of dealing with dogs should learn to prevail or train patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, „let the leash loose too“, explained the specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy. In order to establish a relationship between the therapy dog ​​and the patient as quickly as possible, each session will comprise a common task, which represents a challenge to be mastered for both humans and dogs. Sobottka continues. The dog trainer Doll-Degenhardt is also always present during the therapy exercises.

In order to test the effectiveness of the dog-assisted therapy on the emotional experience and the depressive symptoms of the patients, the results of the treatment are recorded in detail in scientifically standardized questionnaires and subsequently evaluated in a comprehensive study. Andreas Sobottka. „While there have been isolated reports of nurses who have seen improvement in patients with depression during animal therapy, no official study has yet been conducted“, the expert underlined the importance of the current investigation. The specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy intends to submit the first results in about six months.

Physicians hope to shorten the duration of treatment
For the financing of the study, the Oberberg Hospital as a sponsor of the Center for Mental Health in Marienheide raised its own funds. Managing director Joachim Finklenburg emphasized that he had provided the funds gladly, because „ideally“, that „Animal-assisted therapy helps with depression“, In some patients, hospitalization in a clinic can be completely avoided. „Great that our doctors are involved in the advancement of treatment methods“work in the interests of patients, said Joachim Finklenburg. Also Dr. Sobottka hopes to have a positive effect of the canine therapy on patients with depressive disorders, which he said would allow a shortening of the treatment duration and a takeover of the therapy costs by the funds. In addition, the current study may help to introduce general quality standards for animal-assisted therapies, Dr. Sobottka.

Diverse medical use of dogs
The use of dogs for therapy purposes has already been tested for a long time. So the faithful four-legged friends are not only used for the treatment of depression but also for example in dementia. In addition, dogs with their delicate nose helped with the diagnosis of cancer and served patients with epilepsy in order to warn them in time of a seizure. As the studies on the treatment of depressive patients show, however, the possibilities of the medical use of dogs do not seem to be exhausted. However, the first scientifically founded investigation of the treatment success of animal-assisted therapy, which has now begun, represents a significant advance. (Fp)