Pet Therapy and Depression

Learn what research is saying about the role of companion animals in helping people cope with depression.

By Dennis Thompson Jr.

Medically reviewed by Niya Jones, MD, MPH

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Can owning a cat, dog, or other pet help you cope with the blues? Pet therapy, also known as animal-assisted therapy, is recognized by the National Institute of Mental Health as a type of psychotherapy for treating depression and other mood disorders. Being around pets appears to feed the soul, promoting a sense of emotional connectedness and overall well-being.

How Pets Help Treat Depression

Peter Ashenden, president and CEO of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, has a 17-pound Shih Tzu named Bella who never leaves his side. Ashenden, who has bipolar disorder, credits 4-year-old Bella with keeping his mood level and steady, even on his worst days.

"Bella goes everywhere with me, whether it be a gala dinner or board meetings," Ashenden says. "She is my companion. By having Bella with me, it brings a piece of home with me wherever I go."

Ashenden benefits from Bella's presence in several different ways:

• She forces him to remain active even when his depression flares up. Bella needs to be walked two to three times a day. "No matter what's going on with me, that's something that requires I get out of the house — these activities help me remain engaged."
• She keeps him from feeling socially withdrawn. People approach Ashenden because they want to meet Bella, he says. "Sometimes going out of your comfort zone can be difficult — Bella helps break that ice for me."
• She provides him with constant companionship. "I'm never alone," he explains. "One of the symptoms of depression is that people isolate and tend to withdraw."

Ashenden's experience with Bella isn't unique. Researchers have found that interaction with pets — even if they don't belong to you — can reduce anxiety, ease blood pressure and heart rate, and offset feelings of depression. One example showed that exposure to an aviary filled with songbirds lowered depression in elderly men at a veterans' hospital; another example noted the improved moods of depressed college students after they interacted with a therapy dog.

However, it seems that direct contact with an animal is necessary to achieve psychological benefit. People who were shown photographs of cuddly pets as part of a study did not experience the same decrease in symptoms of depression as people who actually were able to play with and touch animals.