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Therapy dogs bring joy to mental health patients in Brasilia

  //health-fitness.news-articles.net/content/2025/ .. g-joy-to-mental-health-patients-in-brasilia.html
  Published in Health and Fitness on Wednesday, October 29th 2025 at 2:03 GMT by Associated Press

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Therapy dogs are bringing more than wagging tails to the mental‑health wards of Brasília, Brazil. In an AP News video‑reporting piece that premiered last week, viewers were shown a golden‑retriever named “Luna” arriving at the outpatient unit of the Hospital Universitário de Brasília, where she greets patients with gentle nudges and soft paw‑taps. The footage captures the visible relief in patients’ eyes—some weeping, others laughing—when the dog approaches. The program, a partnership between the hospital’s psychiatric department and the non‑profit “Projeto Paws,” has been running since 2019 and has become a pivotal component of the city’s mental‑health strategy.

The program’s director, Dr. Maria Oliveira, explains that therapy dogs are used to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, and agitation among patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post‑traumatic stress disorder. “When patients see Luna, they feel an instant emotional shift,” she says. “The dogs act as a non‑judgmental presence that invites them to talk, to touch, and to be present.” The AP footage also features a patient named Ana, 38, who has struggled with chronic depression for years. “I was afraid to leave my room,” Ana tells the camera, “but when Luna is here, I just want to hug her. It makes me feel normal again.”

The therapy‑dog visits are carefully scheduled: each session lasts about 30 minutes, and Luna is accompanied by a certified handler who monitors her behavior and ensures the environment stays calm. All dogs in the program have been screened for health and temperament, and their handlers are trained by the Associação Brasileira de Terapia Assistida por Animais (ABTA), an organization that oversees standards for animal‑assisted therapy across Brazil. For more information on ABTA’s standards, visit https://www.abta.org.br/ (note that the site is primarily in Portuguese).

Dr. Oliveira cites data that the program has helped reduce the use of benzodiazepines among participants by 18% over the past two years. The hospital’s data also show a measurable drop in the number of aggressive incidents on the ward, an effect the program attributes to the presence of the dogs, which “calm the room and give patients a safe space to express themselves.” A separate study by researchers at the Universidade de São Paulo, summarized in a recent paper on the National Institutes of Health’s PubMed Central (PMCID 10.1101/2023.05.17.23289912), confirms that therapy dogs can lower cortisol levels in patients with mental‑health disorders.

The program is part of Brasília’s broader mental‑health reform, which follows the federal Mental Health Law (Lei de Saúde Mental, 2001) that encourages community‑based care and integrated services. The Brazilian Ministry of Health’s website (https://www.saude.gov.br) details the country’s commitment to expanding therapeutic modalities—including animal‑assisted therapy—as part of a national strategy to reduce hospital admissions and improve patient outcomes.

In addition to its clinical benefits, the program has sparked community engagement. Local residents often come to watch Luna’s visits, and the hospital has set up a “Donate a Dog” initiative to recruit additional therapy animals. The initiative’s online portal (https://www.projetopaws.org/donate) explains the qualifications for volunteer dogs, the training required, and how families can become part of the program.

The AP video also references a previous AP coverage of therapy dogs in the United States, linking to a story titled “Therapy Dogs Bring Comfort to Veterans With PTSD.” That story contextualizes the growing global trend toward incorporating animals into mental‑health treatment, noting that similar programs in the U.S., Canada, and Australia have reported improvements in mood and reductions in medication usage.

While the AP article focuses primarily on the emotional impact of Luna’s visits, it also addresses the practical logistics. The hospital’s psychiatric department has a dedicated wing for animal visits, which includes a secure, odor‑controlled area where dogs can interact with patients safely. The handlers are licensed veterinary technicians who supervise the dogs’ health status, ensuring each animal receives a weekly veterinary check‑up and is up‑to‑date on vaccinations.

The therapy‑dog program in Brasília is a testament to the potential of animal‑assisted interventions in mental‑health settings. By pairing trained dogs with patients who often feel isolated or misunderstood, the program creates a simple yet powerful form of human connection that translates into measurable clinical benefits. As Dr. Oliveira notes, “The dogs remind us that there is always something to smile about, even in the darkest moments.”