Every fortnight Barbreck students and staff alike wait with joyous anticipation for the Junior School’s most adored staff member – Bella the therapy dog. Bella, along with her owner, St Catherine’s Junior School Psychologist, Ms Lena Wintermantel, provides wellbeing care to Barbreck and ELC students. Lena shares the benefits Bella is providing to our students below:

Therapy dogs are specifically trained to be reliably nonaggressive, calm, and obedient. They are used to provide support and comfort to individuals by helping to reduce stress, improve engagement and enhance social interactions and relationships.

Commencing in Term 4, 2021, Bella works alongside me once a fortnight during individual and group sessions with students. Having Bella in the room reduces the anxiety students may be feeling and encourages them to more freely engage in the sessions. Often students feel calmer while interacting with Bella and it helps to build rapport and start conversations.

Within sessions, Bella is used to provide behavioural cues and feelings for the students to focus on, encouraging them to connect these to themselves and recognise how their behaviour may be impacting those around them, and how to notice the cues of others. These sessions include emotional regulation, managing anxious feelings, improving social skills, and enhancing self-esteem.

There is mounting research supporting the benefits of therapy dogs working with children and adolescents with mental health concerns and enhancing positive feelings during stressful or anxious situations. Research has shown the effectiveness of therapy dogs to decrease anxiety, improve social skills, promote attention, concentration, and motivation towards learning, and encourage school engagement.

Therapy dogs also act as social facilitators for children – enhancing peer relationships, as well as building trust in the student-teacher relationship. A trained therapy dog in a school environment promotes a sense of belonging and can increase positive attitudes and attendance at school.

This article featured in St Catherine’s News, Autumn 2022. To read the full edition click here.