Therapy Center: Pawsitive Relaxation
School is well underway for NDSU already having five weeks under our belt. Time has flown by as schedules have been crazy busy plus finding time to do all the fun college events and activities. Classes are beginning to start to be a bit more challenging and quizzes and exams are coming up. As a college student life can be stressful and hard, both physical and mental health is important to keep track of in this stressful part of life. Most people on campus are aware of the wellness center to help with physical health and they offer many classes including Zumba, FIT, cycling, and a ton more. One resource not many students are aware of or use on campus is the counseling center which is a great way to improve mental health and is free of use for students. In my experience, the NDSU counseling center is an amazing place to talk about the stressors of being a college student such as friends, loneliness, anxiety, and being away from home.
At the counseling center at NDSU, they offer many different programs to be inclusive and give therapy to all different people so it fits their own preferences. There is regular individual counseling but also group counseling, art therapy, new to NDSU, and my personal favorite pawsitive relaxation. Pawsitive relaxation is a unique program at NDSU that offers the chance for students to interact with therapy dogs. The students are allowed to interact with the dogs for an hour and are able to receive information on how to deal with stress. Many people who move away from home to go to college have to leave behind their pets/ best friends it can be just as hard as missing a parent or sibling. Dogs have a calming effect and there are studies that show that they help with stress, anxiety, and depression.
Having the therapy dogs on campus have helped me as I go through the challenges of college and missing my own dog shae at home. Having an hour away from everything and just focusing on your mental health is very beneficial and helps destress. This program has also allowed me to make many friends who have the same interests as me like loving animals. I have had the opportunity to have the therapy dogs and the handler come to my anthrozoology class and talk to us about the benefits and how human-animal interaction works for the benefit of mental health. Emotional support animals have become big across campuses around the world and this is because we can see the effect animals have on us. Many colleges have implemented programs to interact with dogs and cats over high-stress weeks such as finals. At NDSU students are lucky enough to have a program that is year-round and allows for this interaction when needed. I definitely believe animals improve mental health because I can see this in myself when I'm having a bad day I hang out with my dog and I feel a little better. I suggest this program to anyone who is an animal lover, the counseling center may be scary to go to at first but the many programs that are offered to help improve your mental health are worth it and should be taken advantage of.