The positive impact of dog therapy
Young people with complex mental needs are benefiting from the positive impact of dog therapy sessions.
Our therapy dogs visit young people receiving inpatient mental health care in the Lotus Ward at Acklam Road Hospital in Middlesbrough.
The service uses specially trained therapy dogs and handlers. It has helped the patients build confidence, reduce anxiety, and improve mood. Additionally, it encourages them to engage more positively with staff and peers. This is in a highly specialist setting for under-18s with complex mental health needs.
The hospital is run by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust. It was struggling to secure funding for the sessions. Therefore, Caremark did its own internal fundraising and raised enough money to provide a further five, one-hour sessions.
Now, the hope is that further funding can be obtained to enable the sessions to run indefinitely.
An amazing rapport with our young people
Xante Earnshaw, Assistant Practitioner at Lotus Ward, said: “We cannot express enough how much of a wonderful impact the dog therapy service has had on our ward.
“We had another company bringing in dogs before we discovered Caremark, but they didn’t have anywhere near the same impact. The Caremark dogs and their handlers have had amazing rapport with our young people and just understand them better.
“One young person in particular had an immense fear of dogs. However, with the Caremark’s team’s kindness, patience and understanding, that young person was able to not only play fetch with a dog but also have them on their lap, petting and playing with them by the end of all the sessions.
“Another young person suffered with low mood frequently, however once the team arrived the young person appeared very bright and was able to engage with staff and peers in the lounge for the rest of the afternoon.”
“We are very grateful to Caremark for fundraising to make sure we can continue the sessions over the short-term and are hopeful that this can continue in the longer term.”
“Your visits mean more than you know”
The young people on Lotus Ward sent a thank you card to Caremark and comments included:
“Your visits mean more than you know”
“Thank you to the lovely team for always brightening our ward”
“Our time with the dogs has been amazing”
Caremark Redcar and Cleveland’s animal assisted therapy service supports emotional wellbeing through structured sessions with trained dogs and handlers. The wider service is already being used in homes, schools, care settings and community venues across the area.
Michelle Jackson, Caremark Managing Director Michelle Jackson, said: “The hospital is one of many local services we support which struggle to get funding for regular sessions. So, we were delighted to be able to do our own fundraising to keep them going over the short-term
“It’s clear these sessions are delivering very positive outcomes and we will continue to do our very best to maintain them. However, we would welcome support from local people, businesses or anyone who can help us access further funding streams.
“The dog therapy service is changing lives across our area and we’re keen to support as many people as we can for as long as we can.
“We would love to offer the service free of charge but unfortunately we are not a voluntary service. In addition, all our dog handlers are trained and experienced carers as well, meaning they can bring even more to the table when they are in community settings.”
About Caremark Redcar and Cleveland
Anyone interested in sponsoring the dog therapy service or supporting with securing future funding can contact Caremark on 01287 634706. Please also get in touch to discover more about the service.