Too much to handle? Exploring perceptions of therapy dog handlers as pseudo-therapists in post-secondary canine-assisted interventions

Background : Research attests to the beneficial effects of canine-assisted interventions (CAIs) for supporting post-secondary student well-being. As post-secondary is a time of great stress and anxiety, institutions implement resources, such as CAIs, to try and bolster student well-being. Among other measures, CAIs have been shown to improve student self-esteem, connectedness to campus, and decrease stress, homesickness, and loneliness. However, an essential figure in these interventions has rarely been studied thus far: the therapy dog handlers themselves. These interventions simply cannot take place without the therapy dog handlers, so it is crucial to further understand their role. Methods : To address these needs, this qualitative study explored therapy dog handlers’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities and whether they are utilizing professional counselling skills that are potentially outside their scope of practice. Thirteen therapy dog handlers from a large post-secondary therapy dog program in Western Canada were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews focused on topics such as handlers’ motivations for volunteering, a self-description of their role, and the skills they use when interacting with students. Results : The insights gleaned from handlers in our study revealed they often feel as though they are pseudo-therapists and utilize many of the same skills, while recognizing that they are not professional counsellors, nor are they meant to be. Conclusions : Findings from our study clarify how therapy dog handlers perceive their role and the varied skills they employ to support human well-being outcomes. Our findings help respond to the need to more fully understand a key agent within the therapy dog-handler-client triad.