Dog-Assisted Therapy Improves Well-Being and Social Skills in People With Severe Mental Disorders
A structured dog-assisted therapy nursing intervention has improved positive mental health among adults with severe mental disorders, particularly in areas such as personal satisfaction, autonomy, and the ability to relate to others. These findings come from a study led by the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) and published in the scientific journal Perspectives in Psychiatric Care.
The researchers evaluated the AcompdogSMP+ program, a complementary intervention designed to support psychosocial rehabilitation from a perspective that extends beyond reducing the symptoms of mental illness. The goal is to strengthen abilities that contribute to well-being and recovery, such as the confidence to make decisions, emotional regulation, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.
“In mental health, recovery does not depend solely on controlling symptoms. It also means enabling people to regain autonomy, build relationships, participate in their communities, and develop resources to cope with the challenges of everyday life,” explains Dr. Judith Balaguer, a researcher with the Nursing Care Research Group at IR Sant Pau, a nurse at the Dr. Pi i Molist Community Rehabilitation Service at Hospital de Sant Pau, and the first author of the study.
Ten Sessions With Defined Therapeutic Goals
The study included 70 adults with severe mental disorders receiving care at the Dr. Pi i Molist Community Rehabilitation Service. Of these, 36 participated in the AcompdogSMP+ program, while the remaining 34 continued their usual rehabilitation activities and served as the control group.
The intervention consisted of ten weekly one-hour group sessions, jointly led by a mental health nurse and a technician specializing in animal-assisted therapy. Two dogs trained for this type of intervention participated in each session.
The program did not simply involve spending time with the animals. The sessions included psychomotor, cognitive stimulation, communication, and social skills activities designed to address specific therapeutic goals. Participants were required to collaborate, take turns, express emotions, make decisions, resolve minor difficulties, and assume responsibilities related to caring for and interacting with the dogs.
“The dog acts as a mediator, facilitating participation and helping to create a less threatening environment. Through this bond, we can work on abilities that are significant for recovery, but always within a planned intervention with defined goals and led by professionals,” says Dr. Balaguer.
The program is based on the Multifactorial Model of Positive Mental Health developed by Dr. Maria Teresa Lluch, which encompasses six dimensions: personal satisfaction, prosocial attitude, self-control, autonomy, problem-solving and self-actualization, and interpersonal relationship skills.
Improvements Across All Dimensions Evaluated
Before and after the intervention, participants completed a validated questionnaire that assesses both overall positive mental health and six specific dimensions: personal satisfaction, prosocial attitude, self-control, autonomy, problem-solving and self-actualization, and interpersonal relationship skills.
After the ten sessions, the overall score of the group participating in AcompdogSMP+ increased from 85.67 to 106.09 points, a gain of more than 20 points. By contrast, the control group’s score decreased from 95.03 to 90.62 points. The statistical analysis confirmed that the two groups followed significantly different trajectories and showed a large effect of the intervention on overall positive mental health.
The most pronounced improvements were observed in personal satisfaction, whose score increased from 16.42 to 22.30 points; prosocial attitude, which rose from 12.19 to 16.14; autonomy, which increased from 9.58 to 13.47; and interpersonal relationship skills, which improved from 14.75 to 20.08 points. In the control group, these dimensions remained stable or declined slightly.
Favorable changes were also observed in self-control, which increased from 10.36 to 10.94 points, and in problem-solving and self-actualization, which rose from 22.39 to 23.14. Although the differences compared with the control group were also statistically significant, the effect was smaller in these two dimensions: small for self-control and moderate for problem-solving and self-actualization. The authors suggest that complex abilities such as emotional regulation and problem-solving may require longer interventions to produce changes of greater magnitude.
The particularly favorable results in the social and relational dimensions support the potential role of dogs as facilitators of interaction. Their presence may help reduce barriers, encourage spontaneous conversations, and provide a shared activity through which participants can practice communication, cooperation, and decision-making.
“One of the main challenges in community rehabilitation is helping people regain the confidence and abilities they need to navigate their everyday lives. This intervention provides a motivating environment in which they can practice these abilities progressively and with support,” the researcher emphasizes.
A Complementary Nurse-Led Intervention
The authors present AcompdogSMP+ as a complementary intervention to standard treatments and rehabilitation programs, rather than as a substitute for psychiatric, psychological, or pharmacological care. The study also highlights the role of mental health nursing in designing and implementing interventions intended to promote positive abilities and behaviors.
In addition to thoroughly preparing the animals, these programs require professionals with specific training, hygiene and safety protocols, and constant monitoring of the dogs’ well-being. During the sessions, technical staff could schedule breaks or remove an animal if it showed signs of anxiety, restlessness, or fatigue.
The study has several limitations. Participants were not randomly assigned to the groups, the sample came from a single service, and the evaluation was conducted immediately after the program ended, making it impossible to determine whether the improvements persist over the long term. Nor is it possible to fully separate the effects of the dogs from those generated by the group activity, structured exercises, and professional support.
“These results will need to be confirmed through larger multicenter studies with follow-up assessments to determine whether the benefits are sustained over time. Even so, this study demonstrates the potential of incorporating structured dog-assisted nursing interventions into community rehabilitation programs,” concludes Dr. Balaguer.
Reference article:
Balaguer-Sancho J, Moreno-Arroyo C, Agüera Z, Lluch-Canut MT, Torralbas-Ortega J, Luis-Ruiz A-B, Martín-Mota N, Paixà-Garcia A, Puig-Llobet M. Exploring the impact on levels of Positive Mental Health through a Dog‐Assisted Therapy Nursing Intervention: A quasiexperimental study with a control group. Perspect Psychiatr Care 2026;2026. https://doi.org/10.1155/ppc/9945543.
