Dolphin Therapy, merely recreational effects or a surprisingly simple health benefit?

Without a doubt, Dolphins have a strange effect upon us. Just catching a fleeting glimpse of one in the wild, stirs excitement. Seeing one close up is pure joy, and these days, a lot more people are taking a closer look at what a dolphin encounter might do for us.

For several decades, dolphin therapy has been gaining momentum with centers utilizing captive dolphins springing up around the world. Dr. Betsy A. Smith of the Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is recognized as one of the pioneers in this field. She and others around the world, such as in Russia for example, have been studying dolphin therapy applications for the past 30 years.

As might be expected, opinions about dolphin therapy range from New Age theories that dolphins are angels or extraterrestrials sent to enlighten humans to skeptics who think people just enjoy the animals and gain from that aspect alone.

How does dolphin therapy work? It's simply people getting into the water with the animals, interacting and allowing them to work their "magic." Scientists still don't fully understand what that magic is, but research is underway which focuses upon the dolphins' sonic waves—their echolocation device. This echolocation is incredibly precise. One theory is that as they bounce these waves off the people they are near, neurological disorders or handicaps are affected. The sonic waves may massage the cells in the body, facilitating healing in those areas. Changes in brain waves and blood chemistry have been noted in humans who have swum with dolphins.

A broad range of illnesses and handicaps are treated by dolphin therapy. The following list is from the Dolphin Therapy website:

* Autism
* Downs-Syndrome
* Depression (except endogenous depression)
* Neurotic Disorders
* Brain trauma : if no cramp syndrome present
* Brain paralysis : if no cramp syndrome present
* Paediatric Cerebral paralysis
* Paediatric Neuroses (Phobia, Enuresis, Asthenia)
* Post comatose condition
* Ecological non-adaptations
* Massive psychological and complex trauma
* Cephalgie (primary headache)
* Chronic Tiredness syndrome
* Retarded speech development
* Retarded mental development and other illnesses that can be treated with therapy up to an age of 50 years.

Confining dolphins for the purpose of using them in dolphin therapy centers, however, is not a good thing from the dolphin's standpoint. There are ethical concerns for the animals’ well-being, as well as safety concerns about swimming with wild dolphins because they are indeed wild animals. One group that seeks to solve this problem and eliminate the need for captive dolphins in treatment centers is called AquaThought Foundation. They are developing a virtual reality interaction which simulates swimming with dolphins.

Perhaps one day, science will crack those dolphin secrets and devise even greater ways of utilizing them in the healing process.