Interest of Animal-assisted Therapy With Dogs in the Treatment of Depression
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Dog-assisted therapy, Occupational activities.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Depression. Basic parameters: 18 years — 65 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Interest of Animal-assisted Therapy With Dogs in the Treatment of Depression: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Overview
This study is a randomized controlled trial (comparing "occupational activities" versus "dog-assisted therapy" arms) investigating the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy with dogs in small groups of participants with depression. Patients in the "dog-assisted therapy" arm will participate in two group sessions (groups of 3 to 7 participants) of canine-assisted therapy, supervised by a healthcare professional certified in animal-assisted therapy alongside a psychiatric caregiver, for 30 minutes each week over 6 weeks. Patients in the "occupational activities" arm will participate in two group sessions (groups of 3 to 7 participants) of occupational activities, supervised by a healthcare professional experienced in group occupational activities alongside a psychiatric caregiver, for 30 minutes each week over 6 weeks.
Interventions
- Procedure Dog-assisted therapy
Dog-assisted therapy consists of the search for positive interactions resulting from the intentional human-animal relationship in the educational, therapeutic or social fields, practices as they are conducted in educational and medico-social institutions for example. - Procedure Occupational activities
Occupational activities consist of origami, relaxation, sports or board games sessions.
Primary outcome measures
- Change in the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score from baseline to 6 weeks. [Time frame: Baseline and week 6]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- Evolution of the 17-item Hamilton scale score between 0 and 3 weeks. [Time frame: Baseline and week 3]
- Evolution of the quality of life scale score (WHOQOL-BREF) at 3 and 6 weeks, compared to the initial score at W0. [Time frame: Baseline and weeks 3 and 6]
- Evaluation of the number of adverse events and serious adverse events related to the therapy under study. [Time frame: From baseline up to 6 weeks]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Patient aged 18 to 65
- Patient affiliated with a social security scheme
- Patient hospitalized under voluntary psychiatric care
- Diagnosis of depression according to DSM-5-TR criteria
- QIDS-C16 score ≥11 at screening
- QIDS-SR16 score ≥11 at screening and inclusion
Exclusion criteria
- Severe comorbid psychiatric disorder
- Imminent risk of suicidal behavior
- Unstable comorbid somatic condition
- Vulnerable patients (under guardianship, curatorship, or judicial protection)
- Known fear of dogs
- Known allergy to dog fur
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
Publications
- Bousman CA, Arandjelovic K, Mancuso SG, Eyre HA, Dunlop BW. Pharmacogenetic tests and depressive symptom remission: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Pharmacogenomics. 2019 Jan;20(1):37-47. doi: 10.2217/pgs-2018-0142. Epub 2018 Dec 6. PMID 30520364
- Lundqvist M, Carlsson P, Sjodahl R, Theodorsson E, Levin LA. Patient benefit of dog-assisted interventions in health care: a systematic review. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017 Jul 10;17(1):358. doi: 10.1186/s12906-017-1844-7. PMID 28693538
- Richerson JT, Wagner TH. Service Dogs for Veterans With PTSD. Psychiatr Serv. 2023 Jun 1;74(6):668-669. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20230164. No abstract available. PMID 37259586
- Rush AJ, Trivedi MH, Wisniewski SR, Nierenberg AA, Stewart JW, Warden D, Niederehe G, Thase ME, Lavori PW, Lebowitz BD, McGrath PJ, Rosenbaum JF, Sackeim HA, Kupfer DJ, Luther J, Fava M. Acute and longer-term outcomes in depressed outpatients requiring one or several treatment steps: a STAR*D report. Am J Psychiatry. 2006 Nov;163(11):1905-17. doi: 10.1176/ajp.2006.163.11.1905. PMID 17074942
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06449690 · FBSM-001 · N° ID-RCB : 2024-A00645-42