Pauleen Bennett Books
Pauleen Bennett is a professor of psychology at La Trobe University specializing in anthrozoology.
Known for: Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health
Books by Pauleen Bennett
Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health
What if one of the most underappreciated mental health resources is already sleeping at the foot of the bed, waiting by the door, or purring on the couch? Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health explores how relationships with pets can support emotional balance, reduce loneliness, strengthen resilience, and enrich daily life. Rather than treating animal companionship as sentimental background, this book examines it as a serious psychological and social phenomenon with growing clinical relevance. The authors combine research from psychology, gerontology, human-animal interaction, and animal welfare to show when and how pets contribute to wellbeing—and when popular claims may be overstated. They look at attachment, social support, emotion regulation, and therapeutic applications, while also addressing ethics, individual differences, and the responsibilities that come with animal care. This balanced approach matters because mental health conversations often overlook practical, relational sources of comfort and connection. Pauleen Bennett, Nancy A. Pachana, and Tiffani Howell bring strong academic authority to the topic through their expertise in anthrozoology, clinical psychology, aging, and animal welfare. The result is a thoughtful, evidence-based guide for clinicians, researchers, students, and pet owners interested in the healing potential of human-animal bonds.
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Human-Animal Bonds Have Deep Roots
Long before pets were called family members, humans were already building emotional, practical, and symbolic relationships with animals. One of the book’s most important starting points is that companion animal wellbeing is not a modern trend or a marketing invention; it is part of a long human stor...
From Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health
Why Animals Affect the Mind
The comfort many people feel around animals is not just emotional folklore; it can be understood through powerful psychological theories. The book explains that to appreciate companion animal-assisted wellbeing, we need frameworks that clarify why these relationships can feel calming, stabilizing, a...
From Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health
What the Research Really Shows
Few topics invite as much warm intuition—and as much overstatement—as the idea that pets are good for mental health. A major strength of this book is its refusal to rely on easy slogans. The authors review the evidence carefully, showing that while many studies link pet ownership or animal interacti...
From Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health
Pets Help Regulate Emotion and Stress
Sometimes emotional relief begins not with a profound insight but with a small interruption: a dog nudging your hand, a cat settling beside you, a bird calling you back into the present moment. The book explains that one of the clearest pathways through which animals support mental health is emotion...
From Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health
Companionship Reduces Isolation and Loneliness
Loneliness is not merely the absence of people; it is the painful feeling of being emotionally unseen, disconnected, or without meaningful companionship. This book argues that pets can help address this experience in ways that are both direct and indirect. Directly, animals provide presence. They gr...
From Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health
Attachment With Animals Can Be Powerful
People often underestimate how emotionally significant a pet relationship can become until they experience the bond themselves. The book highlights attachment as a central concept for understanding why animals matter so deeply. Attachment is about safety, comfort, and emotional anchoring. While trad...
From Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health
About Pauleen Bennett
Pauleen Bennett is a professor of psychology at La Trobe University specializing in anthrozoology.
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Pauleen Bennett is a professor of psychology at La Trobe University specializing in anthrozoology.
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