Animal models have been widely used in most fields of biomedical research, including psychiatric and psychological research on mental disorders. Mental disorders are particularly challenging to model, as they are complex, of multifactorial origin and have human specific symptoms, impossible to model in animals. For many years the benefits of animal models for this sort of research were assumed without empirical evidence, but recently they have been questioned by evidence-based research. In this talk I will present data that demonstrates the poor contribution of animal models to mental disorder research field. I will also discuss the practical and ethical limitations of animal models in this area of knowledge.