Therapy Dogs on Campus: Recommendations for Counseling Center Outreach

Abstract

This article describes the design and implementation of a dog therapy outreach program through the counseling center at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Two main goals were identified for this program: (a) provide stress relief and comfort to students across campus, and (b) increase potential access to counseling services and improve perceptions of the department by providing students with the opportunity to interact with department members outside of the office. Collected student responses appear to support the stated goals. Recommendations for other counseling centers are provided in developing this type of outreach programming.

KEYWORDS:

• college counseling
• outreach programming
• therapy dogs