Remember all those times you were drowning in work, navigating a complicated relationship, feeling homesick and trying to stave off depression in university? Wouldn’t it have helped if you had a bunch of cute puppies around you?
Using animals for mental health therapy is slowly catching on in this country and elsewhere. It may sound a little too simple – yes, of course cute animals make people happy – but it works. Animal therapy can have the same effects as antidepressants, and it’s cheaper too. The positive effects of bonding with an animal are instant.
The Carleton University Students’ Association is thinking of using therapy dogs at their new Health and Wellness Centre, while various other universities are thinking of, or have already incorporated, dog therapy or puppy rooms on campus to help students relieve stress.
This is a great way to reach out to whole bunch of students who, for various reasons, might not use other forms of counselling and therapy.
Not everyone is comfortable approaching a counsellor, and not everyone has close friends with whom they can discuss their personal problems. Students may be shy, quiet and reserved. We also have students from different cultures who deal with and understand stress and mental health very differently. Students deal with and understand stress and mental health very differently.
Animals can reach out to everyone. Anyone can go sit with a puppy, or a cat, or a cute hamster, and form a bond with them. The animals, in return, can offer unquestioning support and love.
Universities, Carleton included, should start looking at therapy animals as a useful resource to keep their students happy.
