The Dolphin Within

Rating:
Summary: Exploring a most important connection
Review: Uninformed skeptics may attempt to marginalize the effects that dolphins have on humans, but therapeutic human-dolphin interactions cannot be dismissed lightly. Dr. Olivia De Bergerac applies a keen, trained eye of compassionate observation, uses biofeedback tools combined with psychometric methods, and takes an approach that is respectful of both humans and dolphins. After scientifically identifying the effect of this species on human brainwaves and thereby illuminating the dynamics underlying dolphins' impact on the human mind and psychology, she scrupulously carries out long-term followup on her human subjects, an element missing in most conventional animal-assisted therapy programs. Her interaction studies are conducted in the wild, another unique aspect of her work. The result is an important and highly signficant piece of the puzzle that explains the science underlying dolphin-assisted therapy, as well as much-needed advocacy on behalf of the dolphins and the ocean. All of these elements combine to make "Dolphin Within" one of the most important books yet to emerge on this much-debated subject. --Ryan DeMares, author of "Dolphins, Myths & Transformation"