If you find that your happiness increases when you spend time with your dog, cat, rabbit, or turtle, you are already aware of the connection between animals and mental health. As wonderful as that temporary mood boost can be, it is just one of many psychological benefits that animals can provide.
How Do Animals Help Our Mental Health?
Here are just a few examples of the many beneficial associations between animals and mental health:
- Companionship: Loneliness can have a profound negative impact on your mental health. The connection you forge with a cat, a dog, or another pet can be an ongoing reminder that you are not alone, and that you have value and purpose. No matter how your day has been going, it can always be improved by seeing a dog’s wagging tail or having a cat climb into your lap.
- Socialization: Spending time with animals can increase your opportunities for spending time with other people, too. Taking your dog to the dog park. or just out for an evening walk. Visiting the stables to go horseback riding. Attending a cat convention (yes, they exist). These are just a few of the many ways that animals can help you connect with other humans.
- Stress relief: If you’ve had a pet before, you may have felt like the stress of the day starts to melt away when you’re with them. It may not surprise you to learn that science supports this. Studies have shown that interacting with pets can improve mood, ease anxiety, and reduce levels of cortisol, which is a hormone that your body releases during times of stress.
- Accountability and purpose: Caring for a pet forces you to think beyond your own needs. The one common element among all companion animals – including fish, reptiles, birds, and the aforementioned furry four-footers – is that they rely on their humans for food, shelter, and healthcare. Being accountable to another living being can also be a source of pride and purpose, both of which can enhance your psychological well-being.
- Physical exercise: Regular physical activity can do wonders for your emotional health, and pets can be a great motivator for moving your body. This doesn’t apply to all pets, of course – though we don’t think there are any rules that explicitly prohibit taking your fish for a stroll, as long as you have the proper equipment. But dogs need to be walked, and horses must be groomed. And if you’re into birdwatching, rumor has it you’re more likely to be successful if you get up and go outside.
Types of Therapy That Involve Animals
The connection between animals and mental health isn’t limited to people who have pets. Horses, dogs, and other animals have proved to be helpful in therapeutic environments, too. Two examples of this are animal-assisted therapy and therapeutic visitations.
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Animal-assisted therapy is a type of experiential therapy. Unlike traditional psychotherapy (or talk therapy), experiential therapies can incorporate a variety of activities, such as playing an instrument, drawing, painting, role-playing, and interacting with animals.
There are no strict requirements on what types of animals can or cannot participate in animal-assisted therapy, but two of the most common forms of this approach are equine-assisted therapy, which involves horses, and canine-assisted therapy, which involves dogs.
During animal-assisted therapy sessions, trained professionals guide participants through structured interactions with the animals. Most of these interactions involve caring for the animals, such as grooming them, feeding them, or leading them on a walk. After spending time with the animals, participants often process their experiences during more traditional group therapy sessions.
One of the many benefits of animal-assisted therapy is that animals can be very sensitive to a person’s mood. If a participant exhibits anxiety, fear, or anger, they may see the immediate impact of these emotions via the animal’s behaviors.
Studies have shown that animal-assisted therapy can help people who have been living with a variety of mental and behavioral health concerns, including anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders (addictions).
Therapeutic Visitations
Therapeutic visitations involve bringing a trained animal into a treatment center or other environment. Unlike animal-assisted therapies, therapeutic visitations are less structured and may involve a greater variety of animals, including dogs, cats, birds, and other common household pets.
The general goals of therapeutic visitations with animals are to provide joy and minimize stress. This service isn’t limited to spaces that are focused solely on mental health. It can also be extremely valuable to hospital patients, nursing home residents, and drug rehab clients.
Some groups even provide therapeutic visitation services in airports, where the chance to pet dog for a few moments can offset the many flying-related stressors that travelers often experience.
How Montare Is a Pet-Friendly Mental Health Provider
If you are seeking a pet-friendly mental health provider in Southern California, Montare Behavioral Health may be the ideal place for you.
We appreciate the powerful connection between animals and mental health, and we are happy to support patients who value their relationship with their finned, furry, and feathered friends.
Some of the facilities in our network partner with local equine therapy centers, with special sessions for our patients conducted at the centers. Some of our facilities also schedule patient outings at area farms, where patients can learn about and interact with the animals.
Also, our aftercare programming and alumni support services also occasionally feature animals, including events held at farms in the area. This means that even after you have completed your time in treatment with us, you can continue to enjoy the mental health benefits that animals provide.
Contact Montare Behavioral Health to Begin Treatment Today
Montare Behavioral Health offers a full continuum of customized mental health treatment services at several convenient locations in Southern California.
Your options at our network of facilities include residential care, partial hospitalization/day treatment, intensive outpatient programming, traditional outpatient services, aftercare planning, and a vibrant alumni support program.
Our team will work closely with you to ensure we understand the full scope of your needs, then we will select the programs and services that can help you achieve improved health and a more hopeful future.
To learn more about animal-assisted therapy or other aspects of our programming, or to schedule a free assessment for yourself or a loved one, please visit our Admissions page or call us today.
