Companion Animal-Assisted Wellbeing: Using Pets for Mental Health: Summary & Key Insights

Our relationship with animals has deep historical roots, formed long before we had the words to describe it. From early hunter-gatherer societies that honored animals as spiritual allies to modern households where pets are beloved family members, the connection has evolved alongside human civilization. Anthropological evidence shows that domestication was never purely utilitarian; from the beginning, animals offered companionship, identity, and emotional meaning. In various cultural traditions, they symbolize loyalty, guidance, or vitality, all reflecting human recognition of their psychological importance.

Today, as psychology and neuroscience explore wellbeing, these ancient relationships take on renewed significance. Pets fulfill needs for touch, belonging, and emotional expression in societies where loneliness and digital detachment increasingly shape mental health. In our book, we use this historical background to remind readers that the human–animal bond is not an add-on to wellbeing science but one of its oldest foundations. By understanding its cultural evolution, we uncover why contemporary research consistently finds animals to be a stabilizing presence in human life.

To appreciate how animals influence our psychological state, we must explore the theories that shape our understanding of emotional processes. Attachment theory provides one key perspective: just as infants form secure attachments with caregivers, adults can form emotional bonds with animals that foster safety and trust. Biopsychosocial models add nuance, illustrating how physiological responses—such as oxytocin release, reduced cortisol levels, and stabilised heart rate—translate into emotional calm.

In framing companion animals as co-regulators of our affective state, we emphasize a dynamic system rather than a unidirectional benefit. The interaction between a person and an animal is mutual, contingent on behavior and emotion from both parties. Our theoretical synthesis combines insights from social support paradigms, self-determination theory, and environmental psychology. Across each framework, animals emerge as facilitators of core psychological needs: autonomy, belonging, and competence. The frameworks guide our evidence-based discussions, connecting emotion regulation, anxiety reduction, and resilience through the tangible, sensory reality of companionship.