Aurora Magazine 2020

Aurora

The list can go on and on. However, I was struck by Marilyn’s statement that “taking away my pets was taking my life”. Can pets actually serve as effective mental health therapy? Of course, those of us who have lived around pets intuitively know the answer is “yes.” But what does science say? Brooks, Rushton, Walker, Lovell & Rogers (2016) present a compelling qualitative study that explores the benefits that pet ownership can have for people dealing with diagnosed long- term mental health conditions. The findings from this study are quite conclusive, and profound for a case like Marilyn’s. Pets can provide people with the type of secure and intimate relationships that would otherwise be unavailable. Pets can also help patients self-manage emotions and feelings by serving as a comforting reprieve and distraction from upsetting circumstances, as well as providing strong, salient relationships that would otherwise be difficult for an individual with mental health conditions to be a participant in. Despite these clear benefits, the research presented in Brooks et al. (2016) finds that inclusion of pets as therapy is not currently considered for, much less an integral part of most mental health care plans. As a learnable lesson from this research as it could relate to Marilyn’s situation, as mental health care professionals, we all need to be open to listening and being observant to the needs of each individual in our care, and to avoid shying away from unconventional therapies that can literally mean life and death to a person with a mental health condition. In Marilyn’s case, the simple action of allowing her to keep her pets under the auspices of her mental wellness, could have been the best therapeutic intervention possible.

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