{"id":708934,"date":"2026-06-02T00:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T00:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/708934\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T00:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T00:48:13","slug":"animal-medicine-therapy-donkeys-help-patients-at-french-psychiatric-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/708934\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Animal medicine’: Therapy donkeys help patients at French psychiatric hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"

Therapy donkeys are helping patients with mental health<\/a> conditions recover in a psychiatric hospital unit outside Paris<\/a> that’s unique to France<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 19th century farm buildings and wooded surroundings are a haven within the Ville-Evrard hospital<\/a> complex in Neuilly-sur-Marne. On Friday, patients took the five donkeys for a walk and cared for them. Some confidently lifted their hooves to remove dirt. Many ended the session with a hug.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you take medication that helps you relax \u2026 it\u2019s exactly the same,\u201d said Nathalie, a 60-year-old patient. She and others were identified by their first names only to protect their privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d call it animal medicine,\u201d she said. \u201cIt brings relief. You stop thinking about everything else.”<\/p>\n

Patients attend the sessions free of charge as part of their treatment, which is funded by France\u2019s public health system.<\/p>\n

Participants are usually paired with a donkey \u2013\u00a0Nono, Pitou, Oscar, Manolo or Malraux. Over time, they become familiar with each other\u2019s personalities.<\/p>\n

Audrey Seffar, a nurse at the animal therapy unit, said Nathalie’s progress after only a few sessions was significant.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, she wouldn\u2019t get out of the cart (provided for people with physical difficulties). But little by little, with encouragement, she did,” Seffar said. “The animal serves as a mediator. It\u2019s such an extraordinary one that today she was able to leave the cart and stand beside her donkey.”<\/p>\n

\"Patients<\/p>\n

Patients with mental health conditions, staff members and volunteers, participate in a therapy session involving donkeys in Neuilly-sur-Marne on May 29, 2026. \u00a9 Thomas Padilla, AP <\/p>\n

Another patient, J\u00e9r\u00f4me, 52, said the programme helps reduce loneliness.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking with people, taking part in activities I wouldn\u2019t normally do, it helps me in my daily life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt helps you break away from the routine of treatment and medication. Staying at home isn\u2019t good for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first donkeys arrived at Ville-Evrard hospital in 2016 as part of a project launched by Ermelinda and Fran\u00e7ois Hadey.<\/p>\n

Read moreBone app\u00e9tit: Paris dogs lap up treats at canine-friendly caf\u00e9s<\/a><\/p>\n

Ermelinda, a nurse specializing in psychiatry, strongly believed in animal therapy benefits and thought donkeys, known for their calm and social nature<\/a>, would be perfect. Her husband learned how to train donkeys for therapy work. Some of the animals<\/a> were adopted through shelters after experiencing neglect or mistreatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cA donkey is very intelligent. It understands things very quickly, but you have to explain slowly,\u201d Fran\u00e7ois Hadey said. \u201cDonkeys are calm, serene animals that are generally close to people. Once they\u2019re involved in these interactions, they connect very well with patients. They\u2019re emotional sponges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A patient with mental health conditions cleans a donkey’s eyes during the animal therapy session in the eastern suburbs of Paris, on May 29, 2026. \u00a9 Thomas Padilla, AP <\/p>\n

Since 2022, the animal therapy programme has had official status as a health care unit in the hospital, allowing it to employ three full-time nurses. Volunteers with a nonprofit group help care for the animals.<\/p>\n

The programme has expanded to include guinea pigs, chickens, doves, goats, turtles and rabbits. Sessions are tailored to people\u2019s needs and preferences, and smaller animals can be brought to hospital rooms.<\/p>\n

Alicia Fabi, an 18-year-old nursing student, said the activity gives patients a chance to leave the hospital environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time we come back from the activity, they say they feel good, calm and relaxed, and that they enjoyed the outing. That\u2019s really positive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Walking together also allows patients and health workers to develop a deeper relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about many different things, their illness, their lives and just about everything else. We don\u2019t focus only on the illness because we don\u2019t want them dwelling on it all the time,\u201d Fabi said.<\/p>\n

Health workers say the sessions are designed as therapeutic interventions for living with anxiety, depression, autism<\/a>, schizophrenia or other conditions. Staff said they can help improve emotional regulation, communication, social interaction and self-esteem.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything we do with the animals allows us to work with the patient,\u201d Ermelinda Hadey said. \u201cWe work on feeding the animal, which helps us address the patient\u2019s own eating habits. We work on the animal\u2019s hygiene, and by mirror effect, we work on the patient\u2019s hygiene as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Patients<\/p>\n

Patients with mental health conditions participate in a therapy session involving donkeys in Neuilly-sur-Marne. \u00a9 Thomas Padilla, AP <\/p>\n

Many patients take intensive treatments, including antipsychotic medications or sedatives, which can make it difficult to find the motivation to participate in activities, she said. That\u2019s where the relationship to donkeys and other animals play a role, she stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not replace a doctor or a medical prescription, but it can help patients regain confidence and a sense of self-worth,” Hadey said.<\/p>\n

She said more scientific evaluation is needed. They would like animal therapy to be formally recognised by the psychiatric community as a complementary form of care.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo do that, we need research. We have plenty of accounts from patients … Caregivers who accompany them see the benefits every day as well. But doctors have so many other responsibilities that they don\u2019t necessarily witness it firsthand,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At the end of Friday\u2019s session, as patients chatted, a nurse summed up the program\u2019s appeal: \u201cDonkeys are my best colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n

(FRANCE 24 with AP)<\/p>\n

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For those tired of anxiety-inducing news, The Bright Side<\/a> highlights initiatives, new discoveries and lighter perspectives to showcase progress and positivity in the world. Whether covering scientific innovations, inspiring profiles or striking images, our stories are always based on rigorously verified facts.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Therapy donkeys are helping patients with mental health conditions recover in a psychiatric hospital unit outside Paris that’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2837,49,48,637,84,392,393,238203],"class_list":["post-708934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-animals","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-france","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-mental-health","tag-the-bright-side"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}