Animal-Assisted Interventions

In March, the MSW students in Dr. Kathy Moroz's "HBSE II: The Changing Life" course got a special visit from Therapy Animals of Utah. "At a rough point in the semester in terms of stress for students and faculty, we were all soothed by the wonderful presence of the highly skilled Therapy Animals of Utah volunteers and their well-trained therapy dogs," said Dr. Moroz. "Debbie Carr and her human and canine teammates expanded our knowledge of assessment and intervention and enhanced any limited ideas we might have had about who belongs on the treatment team. These teams gave new meaning to the idea of professional use of self and overflowing unconditional acceptance and positive regard," she said.

"I would like to recognize the tireless efforts of these strictly volunteer humans and animals," said Dr. Moroz, "and encourage other social work faculty, students, and friends of social work to tap into and support this highly attuned resource for those we care about and love." For more information about how you can become involved as a volunteer or make use of a therapy animal in your social work practice, please contact: Debbie Carr (801-706-1389) or Therapy Animals of Utah (801-280-1855).