Feasibility of Animal-Assisted Therapy in the Treatment of Depression

Year 2024, Volume: 16 Issue: 3, 543 - 553, 30.09.2024

Onour Impram , Fatima Zehra Allahverdi

https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.1373976

Abstract

The objective of this review is to assess the potential inclusion of animal-assisted therapy practices in the treatment of depression. Given the documented rise in the incidence of depression in recent years, there is a recognized significance in exploring innovative approaches to depression treatments. While previous studies and systematic reviews have investigated animal-assisted therapy in general or in relation to topics like anxiety, no specific study detailing the impact of animal-assisted therapy practices on depression treatment was identified. Consequently, this review was undertaken to fill this gap. The review focused on studies conducted between 2011 and 2022, evaluating a total of 6 randomized controlled studies. The findings from these studies suggest that integrating animal-assisted therapy practices into the depression treatment process can yield positive effects. Despite the observed benefits, it is important to note that systematic application of animal-assisted therapy reveals certain deficiencies. Therefore, there is a recognized need for additional studies to address and refine the systematic implementation of animal-assisted therapy in the context of treating depression.

Keywords

Depression, animal assisted therapy, psychological disorders

Depresyon Tedavisinde Hayvan Destekli Terapinin Uygulanabilirliği

Abstract

Bu sistematik derlemenin amacı, hayvan destekli terapi müdahalelerinin depresyon tedavisine entegre edilip edilmediğini araştırmaktı. Her ne kadar önceki çalışmalar ve sistematik incelemeler hayvan destekli tedaviyi genel olarak veya anksiyete gibi alanları incelemiş olsa da, bu çalışma sadece hayvan destekli tedavinin depresyon üzerindeki etkisini inceleyen randomize kontrollü çalışmalara odaklanması nedeniyle benzersizdir. 2011-2022 yılları arasındaki çalışmaları kapsadı. Son yıllarda depresyon düzeylerindeki ciddi artış nedeniyle depresyonun incelenmesi önem taşıyor. Sistematik derleme için altı çalışma seçildi. Araştırmaların sonuçları, hayvan destekli tedavinin depresyon tedavi sürecine entegrasyonunun olumlu etki yaratabileceğini gösteriyor. Depresyon tedavisi açısından hayvan destekli tedavinin çeşitli şekillerde katkı sağladığı gözlemlenmiştir. Ancak hayvan destekli tedavinin sistematik olarak uygulanmaması nedeniyle gelecekte çalışmaların yapılması gerekmektedir.

Keywords

Depresyon, hayvan destekli terapi, psikolojik bozukluklar

References

• Allen B, Shenk C, Dreschel N, Wang M, Bucher A, Brown M et al. (2021) Integrating animal-assisted therapy into TF-CBT for abused youth with PTSD: A randomized controlled feasibility trial. Child Maltreat, 27:50-64.
• Alliance of Therapy Dogs (2018) A history of therapy dogs for depression. https://www.therapydogs.com/animal-therapy/ (Accessed 15.04.2022).
• Ambrosi C, Zaiontz C, Peragine G, Sarchi S, Bona F (2019) Randomized controlled study on the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy on depression, anxiety, and illness perception in institutionalized elderly. Psychogeriatrics, 19:55-64.
• Berget B, Ekeberg O, Pedersen I, Braastad BO (2011) Animal-assisted therapy with farm animals for persons with psychiatric disorders: Effects on anxiety and depression, a randomized controlled trial. Occup Ther Ment Health, 27:50-64.
• Berget B, Ihlebæk C (2011) Animal-assisted interventions: effects on human mental health- theoretical framework. in Psychiatric Disorders: Worldwide Advances (Ed T Uehara): 121-138. London, UK, InTech Open.
• Bowlby J (1982) Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. Am J Orthopsychiatry, 52:664-678.
• Bruneau L, Johnson A (2016) Fido and Freud meet: Integrating animal-assisted interventions with counseling theory. American Counseling Association Conference, 27 March 2011, New Orleans, LA, USA.
• Çakıcı A, Kök M (2020) Hayvan destekli tedavi. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar, 12:117-130.
• Chirico F, Capitanelli I, Nowrouzi-Kia B, Howe A, Batra K, Sharma M et al. (2022) Animal-assisted interventions and post-traumatic stress disorder of military workers and veterans: A systematic review. J Health Soc Sci, 7:152–180.
• Cuijpers P, Karyotaki E, de Wi L, Ebert DD (2020) The effects of fifteen evidence-supported therapies for adult depression: A meta-analytic review. Psychother Res, 30:279–293.
• Ettman CK, Abdalla SM, Cohen GH, Sampson L, Vivier PM, Galea S et al. (2020) Prevalence of Depression Symptoms in US Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open, 3:e2019686.
• Evans-Lacko S, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Al-Hamzawi A, Alonso J, Benjet C, Bruffaerts R et al. (2018) Socio-economic variations in the mental health treatment gap for people with anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders: Results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Psychol Med, 48:1560–1571.
• Fennig MW, Weber E, Santos B, Fitzsimmons-Craft EE, Wilfley DE (2022) Animal-assisted therapy in eating disorder treatment: A systematic review. Eat Behav, 47:101673.
• Fine AH (2010) Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy: Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice, 3rd ed. Cambridge, MA, Academic Press.
• Fine AH (2015) Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy: Foundations and Guidelines for Animal-Assisted Interventions, 4th ed. Cambridge, MA, Academic Press.
• Fırat M, Okanlı A, Kanbay Y, Utkan M (2021) The prevalence of pandemic anxiety, anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Psychiatry Clin Psychopharmacol, 31:198-205.
• Fullenwiley-Jones R (2021) Efficacy of animal-assisted therapy versus cognitive behavioral therapy for veterans with PTSD. (Masters thesis). San Marcos, CA, California State University San Marcos.
• González-Ramírez M, Ortiz X, Hernández R (2013) Cognitive–behavioral therapy and animal-assisted therapy: Stress management for adults. Altern Complement Ther, 19:270–275.
• Hediger K, Wagner J, Kunzi P, Haefeli A, Theis F, Grob C et al. (2021) Effectiveness of animal-assisted interventions for children and adults with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Psychotraumatol, 12:1879713.
• Huber A, Klug SJ, Abraham A, Westenberg E, Schmidt V, Winkler AS (2022) Animal-assisted interventions improve mental but not cognitive or physiological health outcomes of higher education students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Ment Health Addict, doi: 10.1007/s11469-022-00945-4.
• Hunt MG, Chizkov RR (2014) Are therapy dogs like xanax? Does animal-assisted therapy impact processes relevant to cognitive behavioral psychotherapy? Anthrozoos, 27:457–469.
• Jakobsen J, Gluud C, Kirsch I (2020) Should antidepressants be used for major depressive disorder? BMJ Evid Based Med, 25:130.
• Kaiser T, Herzog P, Voderholzer U, Brakemeier EL (2022) Out of sight, out of mind? High discrepancy between observer- and patient-reported outcome after routine inpatient treatment for depression. J Affect Disord, 300:322–325.
• Kamioka H, Okada S, Tsutani K, Park H, Okuizumi H, Handa S et al. (2014) Effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Complement Ther Med, 22:371–390.
• Kruger KA, Serpell JA (2010) Animal-assisted interventions in mental health. in Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy (Ed Ah Fine):33–48, San Diego, CA, Elsevier Academic Press.
• Levinson BM (1962) The dog as a 'co-therapist'. Ment Hyg, 46:59–65.
• Levinson, BM (1969) Pet-Oriented Psychotherapy. Charles C, Springfield, IL.
• Macauley BL (2006) Animal-assisted therapy for persons with aphasia: A pilot study. J Rehabil Res Dev, 43:357–366.
• Majić T, Gutzmann H, Heinz A, Lang UE, Rapp MA (2013) Animal-assisted therapy and agitation and depression in nursing home residents with dementia: a matched case–control trial. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, 21:1052–1059.
• Maujean A, Pepping C, Kendall E (2015) A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of animal-assisted therapy on psychosocial outcomes. Anthrozoos, 28:23-36.
• NIMH (2023) Major depression. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression (Accessed 17.08.2023).
• Olsen C, Pedersen I, Bergland A, Enders-Sleger MJ, Patil G, Ihlebaek C et al. (2016) Effect of animal-assisted interventions on depression, agitation and quality of life in nursing home residents suffering from cognitive impairment or dementia: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 31:1312–1321.
• Parbery-Clark C, Lubamba M, Tanner L, McColl E (2021) Animal-assisted interventions for the improvement of mental health outcomes in higher education students: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 18:10768.
• Pedersen I, Martinsen EW, Berget B, Braastad BO (2012) Farm animal-assisted ıntervention for people with clinical depression: a randomized controlled trial. Anthrozoos, 25:149–160.
• Pendry P, Vandagriff JL, Carr AM (2019) Clinical depression moderates effects of animal-assisted stress prevention program on college students’ emotion. J Public Ment Health, 18:94–101.
• Rockett B, Carr S (2014) Animals and attachment theory. Soc Anim, 22:415-433.
• Serpell J, McCune S, Gee N, Griffin J (2017) Current challenges to research on animal-assisted interventions. Appl Dev Sci, 21: 223-33.
• Verheggen T, Enders - Slegers, M-J,Eshuis J, et al. (2017) Enactive anthrozoology: Toward an integrative theoretical model for understanding the therapeutic relationships between humans and animals. Hum-Anim Interact Bull, 5:13–35.
• WHO (2017) Depression and other common mental disorders: Global health estimates. https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/depression-global-health-estimates (Accessed 3.10.2022).
• WHO (2022) COVID-19 pandemic triggers 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide (Accessed 24.01.2023).
• Zilcha-Mano S, Mikulincer M, Shaver PR (2011) Pet in the therapy room: An attachment perspective on animal-assisted therapy. Attach Hum Dev, 13:541-561.