Image: UNE psychologist Gwen Schumack and support dog Percy, a Brittany spaniel, whose retriever ancestry is evident in his obsession with birds.
He’s been missing from campus due to COVID restrictions for a year – doggone it! – but Percy, UNE’s resident psycho-therapy dog, is back. And soon he’ll have a sidekick.
An integral member of UNE’s Student Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) team, Percy has been sorely missed since face-to-face consultations were paused and CAPS rooms underwent renovation. Before then, the six-year-old Brittany spaniel was a regular in private consultations and small-group sessions run by owner and UNE psychologist Gwen Shumack.
“Some of my ongoing clients have really missed him and I know that Percy has missed his work, too,” Gwen says. “Especially in the early days of the transition to Zoom consultations, he was constantly nudging me as if to ask ‘what are we doing?’. He was so excited to put his vest back on to do some group work with our residential college leaders earlier this year and now he’s very eager to assume his prime position back in sessions.”
Percy is one of only a handful of university psycho-therapy dogs in Australia providing comfort to students and unique support for treating psychologists. While empirical data is limited, there’s no doubt that Percy eases client stress and supports engagement in therapy.
Psycho-therapy dogs are thought to reduce cortisol levels and increase a person’s production of oxytocin, the hormone associated with increasing trust, relaxation and positive regard. They can also be used in role play that offers insights into human behaviour, and intuitive Percy provides subtle feedback to Gwen on how her clients are feeling.
It’s not all one-way traffic either. “Percy is happiest and most content when he is engaging with people,” says Gwen, who will resume (with Percy) in-person counselling in a newly refurbished building next to Duval College in Trimester 3.
But the training of a psycho-therapy dog takes years, which is why Gwen has taken on “a pretty gorgeous” new Groodle puppy named Nella. It will be a few months before she begins her own formal psycho-therapy dog education, but with Percy’s guidance she is already coming along nicely.
“Percy has been a very patient big brother,” Gwen says. “At the moment it’s all about developing Nella’s social skills, manners and basic obedience, and getting her used to different environments and experiences. It will take a couple of years before she is fully accredited, but Nella is already showing great suitability for the work; she’s very calm and loves people.”
Although she is still on her ‘L’ plates, you might start seeing Nella around campus as she finds her feet. “She is further confirmation that psycho-therapy dogs can play a very important part in supporting the health and wellbeing of our UNE community, especially as we step out of the shadow of COVID lockdowns,” Gwen says. “We know the pandemic has had a significant impact on peoples’ wellbeing. Our counselling service remains as committed as ever to supporting our students, to rebuilding community and rebuilding relationships. Percy – and soon Nella – will be there, as a beautiful means of promoting steps toward recovery.”
Twice the cuteness and twice the love.