Animal-Assisted Mental Health Education for Veterinary Students

Veterinary students often face mental health challenges due to the demanding nature of their studies and the pressures of adapting to their future profession. To address this issue, an animal-assisted education in mental health (AAE-MH) program was developed and implemented at a veterinary school in Hong Kong. The primary goal of the AAE-MH program was to enhance students' mental health literacy, raise awareness of mental health topics, and improve their help-seeking behavior and overall well-being. By leveraging the students' natural affinity for animals, the program incorporated a blend of course-based and experiential learning activities to tackle the often-taboo topic of mental health in the veterinary field. The AAE-MH program consisted of six sessions, each lasting 1 hour and 50 minutes. Two of these sessions involved 1 hour of learning from certified therapy dogs. This interdisciplinary program drew expertise from veterinary mental health professionals, psychologists, animal-assisted therapists, and veterinary school faculty. This collaborative effort ensured that the program covered both the biomedical and humanistic aspects of veterinary medicine, preparing students to better understand and support their own and their peers' mental well-being. The AAE-MH program was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and appropriate precautionary measures were taken. This teaching tip outlines the key elements of the program, including the course design, delivery, and evaluation of its effectiveness. We hope that this framework can provide fellow educators with the opportunity to potentially adapt and implement similar initiatives within their own veterinary education contexts, ultimately benefiting the entire veterinary profession.