The Campus Tails therapy-dog pilot program (Campus Tails) was designed as a feasibility study with rolling enrollment. I conducted it three days a week during the spring semester of 2013 for 13 weeks (allowing for spring break) with the help of two registered therapy dogs, Emma, an eight-year-old border collie mix, and Lucy a four-year-old boxer. Screening for student participation began at the start of the spring semester. Thirty-two students inquired about participating in Campus Tails: 25 attended a participant-screening interview and 15 met criteria for participation and enrolled in the program. Participation terminated when (a) a student decided to withdraw from the program, (b) a student missed two consecutive scheduled sessions with a therapy dog without contacting the researcher, or (c) the semester ended. I added new participants as space allowed until the last 4 weeks of the semester. Fourteen of the 15 enrolled participants attended therapy-dog sessions. One participant withdrew from the program after the initial screening interview due to time constraints.
Program Objectives
Campus Tails offered students a therapeutic alternative to traditional counseling services. Program objectives included helping students decrease symptoms of depression and/or anxiety, as indicated by self-report and as measured by the CCAPS-34, and increase perceived wellbeing, as indicated by self-report, and as inferred by the CCAPS-34.
Mental Health of American College Students
Over the past 15 to 20 years, college counseling centers across the country have reported a rise in students seeking services (Benton et al., 2003; Eiser, 2011; Harper & Peterson, 2005; Kadison & DiGeronimo, 2004; Kitzrow, 2003). Students in treatment for severe psychological problems increased from 16% in 2000 to 44% in 2010 (Eiser, 2011). Depression and anxiety are
the most common serious disorders for which students seek therapy. One national survey of students found that 45.6% of respondents endorsed feeling hopeless and 30.7% endorsed having psychological symptoms that interfered with normal daily functioning (Eiser, 2011). From 1988 to 2004, the reported cases of depression in college students doubled (Benton et al., 2003; Kadison & DiGeronimo, 2004). One study showed that the rate of students in treatment for depression increased nearly 5% from 2001 to 2005 (Harper & Peterson, 2005). Studies also suggest that students are more anxious than ever. One study found that 25% of students endorse feeling overwhelmed by academic and other life pressures (Harper & Peterson, 2005).
Students experiencing psychological problems may exhibit poor academic performance, have difficulty with affect regulation, and have problems with interpersonal relationships. In addition, their behaviors may negatively affect other students (Kitzrow, 2003). Unresolved psychological issues may increase the likelihood that a student will drop out of school (Kitzrow, 2003). Studies show that students who receive psychological support experience increased perception of wellbeing (Eiser, 2011; Kitzrow, 2003), improved academic performance, and decreased rates of attrition (Backels & Wheeler, 2011; Eiser, 2011; Harper & Peterson, 2005; Kitzrow, 2003).
This campus. The therapists at the Bowdoin Counseling Services (CS) provided a
record-breaking number of counseling sessions—3,228—during the 2011–2012 academic year. The increase represented a 4.6% rise over the number of counseling sessions provided during the 2010–2011 academic year, which had also been a record-breaking year of 3085 sessions.
Overall, CS accommodated 24% of Bowdoin students during 2011–2012. According to the director of CS, Bernie Hershberger, PhD, the number of students counseled at CS over the past eight years has increased by 30%, and the number of sessions has increased by 80%
(Hershberger, 2012). In keeping with national trends, depression and anxiety are among the most common psychological problems encountered at Bowdoin CS (B. Hershberger, personal communication, September 12, 2012).
Help-seeking behavior among college students. Students who fear a personal stigma
associated with being in mental health treatment may be disinclined to seek help from traditional college counseling services (Eisenberg et al., 2009). Therefore, although the increased rate in students’ use of counseling services is remarkable, it may still underestimate the level of
students’ need for psychological support. Students who are reluctant to go to counseling but who suffer from symptoms such as loneliness, difficulty concentrating, irritability, depressed mood, and/or increased worrying, may be more willing to turn to alternative therapeutic modalities for the support they need.
Alternatives to therapy. Many college counseling centers have begun offering adjuncts
or alternatives to traditional counseling services in the form of self-care options. For example, it is common to see yoga classes offered on college campuses as a way to achieve wellness and address “physical, psychological, and spiritual” suffering (Adams & Puig, 2008). Studies indicate that yoga may be useful in treating the symptoms of depression. However, more research is needed to determine if it is useful in treating the symptoms of anxiety (Adams & Puig, 2008). Another self-care option that is becoming popular on many campuses is group meditation offerings, such as mindfulness and loving-kindness (metta) meditation. Mindfulness practice may increase positive and decrease negative emotional states (Brown & Ryan, 2003), and mindfulness-based stress reduction classes have been shown to reduce symptoms of
depression and anxiety in college students (Shapiro et al., 1998), reduce their perceived level of stress (Hoffman, 2006), and increase perceived wellbeing (Hoffman, 2006; Trotter, 2010).
Loving-kindness meditation has been shown to increase perceived wellbeing (Corcoran, 2007; Pryor, 2012).
Bowdoin offerings and remaining needs. Bowdoin College has a beautiful yoga room
in the Peter Buck Center for Health and Fitness. Yoga classes, including Power Yoga, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, and Yin Yoga, are regularly available (Bowdoin 2012b). Students who are
interested in practicing meditation in a group setting will find regular offerings of both mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation meetings.
Yoga and meditation may provide useful alternatives to counseling for some students suffering from psychological symptoms. However, neither provides them with the opportunity to connect with another being who gazes at them with “adoring eyes,” and, without words, communicates, “I am so glad to see you. . . . I care about you. You are wonderful. I have nothing more important to do, no one I’d rather be with” (Straus, 2010, p. 219–220). Adoring eyes may activate attachment-related experiences, such as proximity seeking, safety, and
belonging, that may be missing from a student’s life. They may also be a bridge that emotionally connects humans with dogs, thereby enabling the attuned dog’s mere presence to help in the co-regulation of negative psychobiological states.
In addition to all of the alternatives to traditional counseling that many colleges and universities already offer, students report that they actually want to have some form of
on-campus pet therapy available to them (Adamle et al., 2009). In some ways, an on-campus therapy-dog program may offer students a combination of the best of what traditional counseling and self-care alternatives have to offer. For example, similar to being in traditional counseling, regularly spending quality one-on-one time with a therapy dog may provide students with the experience of being seen and relationally known by an attentive, engaging other. Second, unlike
human therapists, therapy dogs do not require a student to disclose potentially uncomfortable, dysregulating narrative information about his or her internal state(s) or personal history. Therefore, a student is able to be present with a therapy dog primarily in an embodied, nonverbal, nonlinguistic way that is similar to the self-care, therapy alternatives.
Program Setting
Campus Tails was conducted at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine in association with Bowdoin Counseling Services. Bowdoin College has approximately 1,750 undergraduate students. The class of 2016 consists of 497 students of which 49% are men, 51% are women, and 32% are students of color. The classes of 2013, 2014, and 2015 have similar demographics (Bowdoin College, 2012a). The campus comprises 215 acres and has many walking paths, cross-country running trails, fields, and open green spaces.
Target population
Campus Tails was designed as an alternative to traditional counseling. It was intended for students who were not engaged in therapy, but nonetheless identified as having symptoms consistent with depression and/or anxiety as indicated by self-report and as measured by the CCAPS-341. Prior to enrollment, I screened students interested in participating in Campus Tails for program eligibility (see inclusion/exclusion criteria below).
Participant recruitment. On the first day of the spring semester, I placed participant
recruitment posters (Appendix A) on campus in public places (e.g., Health Services, library, dining halls, Peer Health, Center for Learning, the psychology department, Women’s Resource Center, bookstore, Safe Space). I also placed ads in the Bowdoin Orient (the campus
newspaper), and the Bowdoin Daily Sun (the electronic newsletter).