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Medical memo: Dolphins for the doldrums?

Medical memo

Dolphins for the doldrums?

Depression is a common problem, and it can be a very serious illness. According to various studies, between 5% and 12% of American adults experience a struggle with depression during any given year. Fortunately, many effective treatments are available, ranging from medication to psychotherapy; milder cases may also respond to herbs and exercise. Whatever the treatment, strong social support is a great asset. In most cases, it is provided by friends, relatives, and colleagues. But without denigrating the value of human contact, doctors in England have proposed a novel treatment relying on contact with marine mammals.

Dolphins as therapists?

One study asked if animal-facilitated therapy could assist in the treatment of depression. The patients were 30 adults with mild to moderate depression without psychotic features. The "therapists" were bottlenose dolphins housed at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences in Honduras.

None of the patients were taking psychiatric medications at the time. Each volunteer took a battery of three psychological tests before and after the two-week trial. Half the participants were randomly assigned to play with, swim with, and care for the dolphins for an hour a day. The control group engaged in similar outdoor water activities for an hour a day.

In just two weeks, all the patients improved substantially, but the ones who interacted with the dolphins improved to a significantly greater degree. And when they were contacted three months later, they reported sustained improvement that eliminated the need for additional therapy.

The study's goal

Dolphin therapy is exotic and may even sound fishy. And even if it works, its availability is obviously extremely limited.

But the study tells us things that may apply to many depressed individuals. Even without dolphins, the control group improved, perhaps because they exercised, were in the water, or were outdoors. To a greater or lesser extent, one of these interventions may be available to depressed patients anywhere in the world.

The contact with dolphins provided an extra benefit. The researchers called it biophilic or animal-facilitated therapy, and it's certainly possible that other animal species could serve a similar role. Indeed, other data suggest that pet ownership promotes physical and mental health. Most depressed people need more than biophilic therapy, but since depression is common and can be very serious, every little bit helps. And if pets are not available, the patient can always rely on the world's number one animal, Homo sapiens.

Last updated:	September 05, 2008