Animals, Nature, and the Nervous System: Why They Help (What the Research Actually Says)

Written By Cait Forget

If you’ve ever felt your shoulders drop the second you step onto a trail or sit with a calm animal, you’re not imagining it. A growing body of research shows that time in nature and human–animal interaction (HAI) can support nervous-system regulation and mental health, mainly when they’re used within psychotherapy. PMC

Meet Foo Foo 🐐 — the embodiment of flight! She’s always bouncing, leaping, and reminding us that ‘flight’ isn’t just a stress response… sometimes it’s pure joy and energy.

TL;DR (for the scrollers)

  • Nature exposure is linked with better mood, sleep, attention, and lower stress and blood pressure. PMC

  • Interacting with animals can decrease stress hormones and may boost oxytocin—the “bond and calm” neuropeptide—supporting trust, safety, and connection. FrontiersPMC

  • Animal-assisted and equine-assisted interventions show improvements for symptoms like depression, anxiety, and PTSD, though study quality varies (we still need more high-quality trials). ScienceDirect+1PMC

  • When these elements are integrated into regulated psychotherapy, you get the best of both worlds: grounded clinical care + the nervous-system benefits of nature and animals. (In Ontario, only six regulatory colleges authorize psychotherapy; I’m registered with two: CRPO and CNO.)

How Nature Helps the Brain & Body

Decades of studies tie green-space exposure to better mental-health outcomes. Reviews report associations with improved cognitive function, brain activity, physical activity, sleep, and overall mental health, as well as reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms. Mechanisms include reduced allostatic load (chronic stress wear-and-tear), attention restoration, and opportunities for movement and sunlight. PMCScienceDirect

A 2023 meta-analysis specifically found that increasing green-space exposure helps prevent depression and anxiety, useful both for prevention and as a complement to treatment. ScienceDirect

Takeaway: Nature time isn’t just “nice to have”; it’s a measurable input for mood, focus, and stress physiology that we can harness in therapy. PMC

What Animals Add (Beyond “Feeling Good”)

Human–animal interaction research reveals psychosocial and psychophysiological effects, including reductions in stress markers, potential immune benefits, and increases in social approach behaviours such as trust and empathy. A leading review proposes that oxytocin—a neuropeptide involved in bonding and calm—helps explain these shifts. Oxytocin pathways are associated with lower cortisol, slower heart rate, and greater feelings of safety and connection, conditions that make therapeutic work easier. FrontiersPubMedPMC

In other words, Animals can help your body feel safe enough to do the more complex emotional work, like processing trauma or practicing new relational patterns. Frontiers

What the Outcome Studies Show

  • Depression (older adults): A 2024 review found moderate, statistically significant reductions in depressive symptoms with animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and robotic-pet programs. ScienceDirect

  • PTSD (veterans): A 2023 review of equine-assisted interventions (EAIs) reported discernible improvements in PTSD symptoms and small reductions in heart rate, encouraging but with small samples and methodological limitations. PMC

  • Broader AAT outcomes: Emerging studies note improved engagement, therapeutic alliance, and reductions in loneliness factors that often predict better therapy outcomes. integrmed.org

Overall, the evidence base is promising but mixed, typical of newer fields. High-quality randomized studies are growing, and professional bodies are now publishing standards and guidelines for animal-assisted work to safeguard clients and animals. PMCccpa-accp.ca

Why This Matters In Psychotherapy

Nature and animals offer bottom-up regulation. They help settle the nervous system through sensory pathways (sight, sound, touch, movement). When you pair that with top-down therapy (emotion processing, meaning-making, skills), People will often:

  • Drop out of fight/flight/freeze more quickly

  • Tolerate and process difficult emotions more safely

  • Engage more openly with the therapist and with each other (for couples). These are precisely the conditions that foster change in psychotherapy. FrontiersPMC

A Quick (But Crucial) Note on Safety & Regulation in Ontario

Animal-integrated care becomes psychotherapy when delivered by a clinician authorized to practise psychotherapy (Ontario has six regulatory colleges). Regulation protects you: scope of practice, ethics, supervision, continuing education, and a public complaints process if something isn’t right. Regulatory colleges protect the public, not the clinician. I’m registered with two of the six colleges (CRPO as a Registered Psychotherapist [Qualifying] and CNO as an RPN), which means your care is accountable to those standards.

Professional organizations in Canada are also issuing practice guidelines for animal-assisted work covering handler competence, animal welfare, infection control, and risk management, so clients get the benefits safely. ccpa-accp.ca+1

What This Looks Like Here (Wandering Willow)

  • Setting: We use our farm and nearby natural spaces for intentional walking, observation, gentle grooming/feeding, or simply co-regulating in quiet presence.

  • Therapy frame: Sessions are anchored in evidence-based psychotherapy (e.g., EFT-informed emotion work, nervous-system-aware interventions).

  • Fit & consent: Not every client or animal is a match for every activity. We discuss goals, preferences, and safety; we also have clear animal-welfare and client-care protocols aligned with Canadian guidelines. ccpa-accp.ca

FAQs

Is animal-assisted psychotherapy the same as visiting a petting zoo?
No. In psychotherapy, animal interaction is used intentionally by a regulated clinician to support clinical goals (e.g., trauma processing, anxiety regulation) within a treatment plan and ethical standards. ccpa-accp.ca

Is there “proof” it works?
Evidence is promising and growing: reviews show benefits for depression, PTSD, stress physiology, and social connection, alongside strong evidence for nature exposure improving mental health markers. We still need larger, more rigorous trials (and they’re underway). ScienceDirect+1PMC+1

What if I’m nervous around animals?
Therapy is always tailored to you. Nature-based sessions (no animal contact) can still deliver significant benefits. PMC

References

  • Jiménez et al. (2021) Narrative review on nature exposure and health. PMC

  • Liu et al. (2023) Meta-analysis: green-space exposure and depression/anxiety. ScienceDirect

  • Beetz et al. (2012) Review: oxytocin pathway in human–animal interaction. FrontiersPMC

  • Villarreal-Zegarra et al. (2024) Review: AAT reduces depressive symptoms in older adults. ScienceDirect

  • Li et al. (2023) Review: equine-assisted interventions and PTSD (veterans). PMC

  • CCPA (2024) Canadian guidelines for Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counselling. ccpa-accp.ca

Cait Forget
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