Interest of Animal-assisted Therapy With Dogs in the Treatment of Depression (DATID)

Fondation Bon Sauveur De La Manche

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Depression

Treatments: Procedure: Dog-assisted therapy; Procedure: Occupational activities

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06449690

N° ID-RCB : 2024-A00645-42 (Other Identifier)

FBSM-001

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Enrollment: 58 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

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

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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58 participants in 2 patient groups

Dog-assisted therapy

Experimental group

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Procedure: Dog-assisted therapy

Occupational activities

Active Comparator group

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Procedure: Occupational activities