Dolphin Therapy

I'm trying to imagine the Grants Department of this study's institution trying to make this study look fundable. Dolphins?!?!

Compared with exposure to water in the natural setting, interaction with dolphins is beneficial for the treatment of mild to moderate depression, according to the results of a randomized trial reported in the Nov. 26 issue of the British Medical Journal.

"Disrupting the affiliation with nature and thus losing the biophilic equilibrium means to alter and damage our psychophysical health," write Christian Antonioli, MD, and Michael A. Reveley, MD, from the University of Leicester Medical School and Leicester General Hospital in the United Kingdom. "Numerous researchers have presented evidence showing the therapeutic value of nature and animals for sick and disabled people.... We chose the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, for the animal-facilitated therapy and mild to moderate depression as the illness to be treated."

This single-blind study took place in Honduras, with recruitment of outpatients in the United States and Honduras, using announcements on the Internet, radio, newspapers, and at hospitals.

Of the 30 patients randomized to the 2 treatment groups, 2 dropped out of the treatment group after the first week and 3 in the control group withdrew their consent after they had been randomized. For those who completed the study, the mean severity of depressive symptoms was more reduced in the treatment group than in the control group (Hamilton rating scale for depression, P = .002; Beck depression inventory, P = .006).

Okay. While I don't think any clinician would prescribe swimming with dolphins instead of, say, SSRI's, perhaps there's something about this whole 'getting back to nature' thing.

"The therapy was effective in alleviating symptoms of depression after two weeks of treatment," the authors write. "Animal-facilitated therapy with dolphins is an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression, which is based on a holistic approach, through interaction with animals in nature.... The echo location system, the aesthetic value, and the emotions raised by the interaction with dolphins may explain the mammals' healing properties."

Of course, every therapy has its limitations...

There were no adverse effects noted, but the authors mention the potential for accidental injuries, and they point out that water phobia and inability to swim represent limitations of the treatment.

So...take home point? Anyone suffering from the winter blues? Just put on your swim trunks and head to the beach. Bring something to lure them in closer to the shoreline - I hear dolphins prefer live bait.