Randomised controlled trial of animal facilitated therapy with dolphins in the treatment of depression

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7527.1231

BMJ 2005;331:1231 (26 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7527.1231

Paper

Randomised controlled trial of animal facilitated therapy with dolphins in the treatment of depression

Christian Antonioli, PhD candidate in psychiatry¹, Michael A Reveley, professor of psychiatry¹

¹ Department of Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Psychiatry, University of Leicester Medical School, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW

Correspondence to: M A Reveley rev{at}le.ac.uk

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of animal facilitatedtherapy with dolphins, controlling for the influence of thenatural setting, in the treatment of mild to moderate depressionand in the context of the biophilia hypothesis.

Setting The study was carried out in Honduras, and recruitmenttook place in the United States and Honduras.

Design Single blind, randomised, controlled trial.

Participants Outpatients, recruited through announcements onthe internet, radio, newspapers, and hospitals.

Results Of the 30 patients randomly assigned to the two groupsof treatment, two dropped out of the treatment group after thefirst week and three withdrew their consent in the control groupafter they had been randomly allocated. For the participantswho completed the study, the mean severity of the depressivesymptoms was more reduced in the treatment group than in thecontrol group (Hamilton rating scale for depression, P = 0.002;Beck depression inventory, P = 0.006). For the sample analysedby modified intention to treat and last observation carriedforward, the mean differences for the Hamilton and Beck scoresbetween the two groups was highly significant (P = 0.007 andP = 0.012, respectively).

Conclusions The therapy was effective in alleviating symptomsof depression after two weeks of treatment. Animal facilitatedtherapy with dolphins is an effective treatment for mild tomoderate depression, which is based on a holistic approach,through interaction with animals in nature.

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Rapid Responses:

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Douglas Adams Effect: stephen brealey
bmj.com, 25 Nov 2005 [Full text]
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish: Mats Reimer
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Randomised controlled trial of animal facilitated therapy with dolphins in the treatment of depression: Biju Basil, et al.
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Cuddling with Koalas: Michael R Forster
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Caring: NANCY K O'CONNOR
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Dolphin?: Theodore RW Floyd
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Poor dolphins!: Mokhtar G E K N Isaac
bmj.com, 30 Nov 2005 [Full text]
Should we be expert swimmers to receive this treatment: Charles N Antwi
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What about the dolphins?: Martin D Ferry
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Re: Randomised controlled trial of animal facilitated therapy with dolphins in the treatment of depression: Alok Kumar Jha, et al.
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Clarification: Christian Antonioli
bmj.com, 1 Dec 2005 [Full text]
Turning point: Niamh E Lynch
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What we are trying to do.: Michael A Reveley
bmj.com, 2 Dec 2005 [Full text]
How do the dolphins accomplish this?: ABDULKADR MUSA/Dr.
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Swimming with dolphins? We might as well all be farmers: Haroon Y. Raja, et al.
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Excellent Contribution to the Field of DAT: Scott Taylor
bmj.com, 9 Dec 2005 [Full text]