There has been plenty of research to support the idea that pets do have health benefits for their owners such as: lowering blood pressure, regulating heart rate, decreasing stress and anxiety, lower rates of depression, and increasing social support (Casciotti & Zuckerman, 2017). Because animals are known to help with stress, anxiety, and depression, there has been a recent interest in pet therapy in our country, especially in regards to students at college. According to a recent study, “over the previous six years, the number of students seeking counseling services increased by 29.6% and the total number of counseling appointments increased by 38.4%” (Green, et al., 2017, p. 50). There is a mental health crisis on college campuses, but maybe pet therapy could help.
Counseling services on campus aren’t enough to combat the rise of mental health issues in students, especially since many students do not feel comfortable using these services due to the stigmas surrounding mental health (Green, et al., 2017, p. 52). Colleges have found that Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) has helped in the regard as animals are known to help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression and most students are in favor of having pet therapy programs on campus (Green, et al., 2017, p. 52). Several studies have shown that having interactions with dogs significantly decreased stress in college students and in one study, results were seen after only ten minutes of interacting with the dog (Green, et al., 2017, p. 54).
There are some potential drawbacks of relying on animals for psychological health though. Stressful situations can occur at any time, but an animal may not be available for support at that time (Green, et al., 2017, p. 54). Many students have taken to having emotional support animals (ESAs) with them in their dorms, but ESAs do not have public access in the way that service dogs do, so the problem of accessibility remains. There are also the problems of phobias and allergies in regards to animals in public places and so schools must learn to balance the psychological needs of some students while respecting the fears and allergies of other students.
There may not be any perfect solution in regards to the mental health crisis on college campuses, but emotional support animals and pet assisted therapy could be good ways to start. In fact, some colleges are already implementing innovative therapy dog programs for their students. The Yale Law Library has started a pilot program where students can “check out” Monty, the library’s new therapy dog, for 30 minute play sessions (Allen, 2011). The program started in 2011 and was a great success, so much so that other libraries are following suit and looking into getting their own library therapy dogs (Xu, 2015). Many of these universities, such as the University of San Francisco and Cornell, are bringing in dogs only on occasion, such as before final exams, instead of having the dog there for students all the time (Xu, 2015). No matter what the set up of the program though, the therapy dog programs have been well received by students who wait in lines to get a chance to interact with the dogs (Xu, 2015).
References:
Allen, J. (2011, March 24). Checking Out Monty: Yale Law Students Can Reduce Stress With Therapy Dog. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Health/StressCoping/checking-monty-yale-law-students-reduce-stress-therapy/story?id=13206568
Casciotti, D., & Zuckerman, D. (2017, March 31). Animals play an important role in many people’s lives and often help with therapy, rehab, etc. Learn more about the possible benefits of pet companionship. Retrieved from http://www.center4research.org/benefits-pets-human-health/
Green, McEwen, S., Wrape, A., & Hammonds, F. (2017). The Mental Health Benefits of Having Dogs on College Campuses. Modern Psychological Studies, 22(2), 50–59. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.library.wvm.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=130798576&site=ehost-live
Xu, Q. (2015, December 9). Yale’s therapy-dog program spreads. Retrieved from https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2015/12/09/yales-therapy-dog-program-spreads/
Tags: #anxiety, College, depression, ESAs, Mental health, stress, therapy dogs
Incorporating emotional support animals (ESA) as a support for students in college campuses is a great option. While there are considerations as you’ve mentioned with phobias and allergies, it would be great to allow a choice for students. Emotional support is very important and often times, being away from home can cause students to feel like they’ve lost the network of support they once had. ESA’s could help bridge that gap during this window of vulnerability for many students.
A possible solution to allow students to work with emotional support animals while considering students with phobias and allergies could be to have designated locations for ESA’s or designated dorms for students for students with ESA’s. Allowing each group of students to exercise a choice in working with emotional support animals or avoiding emotional support animals could allow both groups of students to remain comfortable. Possibly having designated locations of acceptance for ESA’s could counteract the current limitations in more public settings.
References:
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). PSYCH 424 Lesson 5: Health and Clinical/Counseling Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1973019/modules/items/25635687
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Los Angeles: Sage.