Transcript Dolphin Assisted Therapy: A New Treatment for PTSD?

Dolphin Assisted Therapy:
A New Treatment for PTSD?
Elizabeth A. Cantwell
New York University
Acknowledgements
 A special thanks to:
 The staff at Dolphin Research Center, especially Mandy
Rodriguez, Joan Mehew, Julie Bradford, Megan
Mertsock, and Molly McCarthy.
 Gigliana Melzi, Adina Schick, and the Applied
Psychology Class of ‘07 for all of their support.
 Fred Muench, Director of Clinical Research and
Development at Helicor, Inc.
 This proposal and presentation is in memory of Shawn
Rodriguez.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
 PTSD is defined by the DSM-IV-R as a psychiatric
disorder following the experience of or witnessing of a
traumatic event which fulfills three main components:
 Re-experiencing the traumatic event.
 Avoidance of stimuli which trigger memories of the
event.
 Increase in physiological arousal.
 PTSD was originally coined “battle fatigue” and was
related only to war veterans.
Gender and PTSD
 Women are diagnosed with PTSD twice as much as men
(PTSD Alliance, 2001).
 According to recent trends in research, this does not mean
that they are more susceptible to PTSD than men.
 Women and men experience PTSD differently.
 Women show signs of numbing and avoidance as
compared to men who show signs of irritability and
impulsiveness.
 Women are more likely to be co-morbid with mood and
anxiety disorders as compared to men who are more
likely to be co-morbid with substance abuse disorders.
Treatments for PTSD
 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Prolonged Exposure
Therapy have been the most researched treatments, and are
the most popular forms of treatment.
 However, many other treatments have been found to be
just as successful (e.g., Group Therapy, Anxiety
Management, Crisis Intervention).
 Group therapy is effective in helping the patient come out
from isolation, in releasing anger, and in building trusting
relationships.
 Animal Assisted Therapy has been found to have similar
outcomes.
Dolphin Assisted Therapy
 Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT) has been found to help
children learn two to ten times faster than in their regular
treatment programs.
 DAT also increases attention, speech and language, and
fine and gross motor skills for children with mental and/or
physical disabilities.
 Researchers found that long-term effects in children
exposed to DAT included:
 More motivation.
 More participation in activities.
 Initiated conversations.
 Displayed more risk-taking behaviors.
(Nathanson, 1989; Nathanson, de Castro, Friend & McMahon, 1997;
Nathanson & de Faria, 1993; Nathanson, 1998)
Dolphin Research Center and PTSD
 Dolphin Research Center (DRC) is a not-for-profit
educational and research facility which is located in the
Florida Keys.
 DRC is home to nineteen Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and
two California sea lions.
 At DRC, a one-time, twelve-week program was
implemented for Vietnam War Veterans diagnosed with
PTSD.
 Motivated.
 Sociable.
 Felt welcomed home from the war for the first time.
DRC and PTSD
DRC and PTSD
Dolphin Assisted Therapy
 DAT will be defined as a group therapy treatment with the
involvement of dolphins.
 Psycho-educational approach helps the group members learn
about the symptoms of their disorder.
 The present-centered approach has participants learn how
the symptoms affect their lives presently, and how they can
cope with these symptoms.
 In creating a DAT program, some points need to be
addressed, such as:
 Which dolphins the program would use.
 The therapy versus intuition debate within the field of DAT.
 The use of time at the facility.
Research Questions
 Does DAT reduce the symptoms of PTSD in young adults?
 Does severity influence the effect of the therapy?
 Does gender influence the effect of the therapy?
 The specific aim of the study is to implement a PTSD
program at DRC which will not only enhance the
knowledge of Dolphin Assisted Therapy, but also of PTSD.
Participants and Group Composition
 80 participants from the South Florida area.
 Participants will include men and women, between
the ages of 25 and 35, with either mild or moderate
PTSD.
 Participants will be divided into two separate groups:
 Dolphin Assisted Therapy
 Group Therapy in conjunction with Aqua Therapy
 Within each group, participants will be divided into
four separate therapy groups.
Participants and Group Composition
DAT
AT
M
F
M
F
Mild
N=10
N=10
N=10
N=10
Moderate
N=10
N=10
N=10
N=10
DAT = Dolphin Assisted Therapy
AT = Group Therapy in conjunction with Aqua Therapy
Measures
Post-Traumatic Diagnosis Scale (PDS)
This 49-item scale measures the diagnoses of PTSD and
the severity of symptoms, as well as how these
experiences disrupt the patient’s life (Foa, Cashman,
Jaycox & Perry, 1997).
Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI)
This 100-item questionnaire measures impairment of
social skills in addition to the severity of PTSD
symptoms (Briere, Elliott, Harris & Cotman, 1995).
Methods
Duration
DAT
AT
9am-1pm for 7 days.
9am-1pm for 7 days.
Pre-Test
1st day within the first 1st day within the first
90 minutes.
90 minutes.
Post-Test
7th day within the last 7th day within the last
90 minutes. Includes a 90 minutes. Includes a
Treatment Evaluation. Treatment Evaluation.
3-Month Follow-Up
Semi-structured
interviews.
Semi-structured
interviews.
DAT = Dolphin Assisted Therapy
AT = Aqua Therapy in conjunction with Group Therapy
Sample Schedule
Time
Activity
9:00 am
Meet and Greet
9:30
Conservation Talk
10:00
The Dolphins and Us
11:15
Dolphin Swim
12:00 pm
Reflections
1:00
Goodbyes
Conclusion and Implications
 Results of the study will inform the field of Dolphin
Assisted Therapy, as well as expand and contribute to our
current understanding of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
 DAT is a small, limited field.
 Research.
 Locations.
 Populations.
 PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that researchers are still
trying to understand fully.
Questions?
“Future man will be compelled to turn to nature and the animal
world to recapture some sense of unity with a world that otherwise
will seem chaotic and meaningless” (Levinson, 1975).