Humankind’s Best Friend in Mental Health: How Pets Can Help with Addiction

article

Dorothea Leicher

Abstract

Based on theories of evolution and Jung’s ideas of the Self, this article illustrates the history of interspecies interconnection and cooperation, giving rise to altruism and friendship. Differences between human-pet and human-human relationships are used to discuss the therapeutic potential of pets concerning addictions and mental health.

Keywords:

addiction treatment, affective motivations, Carl Jung, collective unconscious, emotional support animals, evolution theories, hierarchy, human-pet relationships, interspecies interconnection, mental health, psychohistory, psychology of pets, religion, symbiosis

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About the author

Dorothea Leicher

Dorothea Leicher, NCPsyA, emigrated from Germany to the U.S. in 1976 and worked administratively as well as in private practice both in mental health and addiction treatment. Her special interests are epistemology and evolution as an economic system. She can be contacted at .

How to cite this article

Leicher, D. (2025). Humankind’s best friend in mental health: How pets can help with addiction. Clio’s Psyche, 32(3), 293-297.

https://doi.org/10.70763/f4492508850c58446d4784339470a8f6