Wanna Go to Therapy with Animals? The RSPCA and Headspace Have Partnered Up in NSW

Not your average group therapy sesh.

You ever seen a cat do something silly and your acne clears, your crops are watered, your grades are up, and your anxiety is cured?

Perhaps that’s a little dramatic. But there is scientific evidence to prove that animals can have a positive effect on humans.

Enter the ‘Petspace’ program, a partnership between The RSPCA and youth mental health group, Headspace, running across Western Sydney.

It’s a six-week program for young people experiencing mental health issues to connect with and care for animals. Activities include reading to the animals, creating enrichment toys for them, and learning techniques to support their mental health.

That’s right—animals can have mental health issues too, especially if they’ve been abandoned or abused.

Stephanie Sok, Education Manager at RSPCA NSW, explains “you can have a dog with depression or a cat with anxiety, to something as severe as self-harm where a bird might feather pluck or a dog might chew at its tail, right through to the animal shutting right down and not interacting at all.”

Since its launch in 2014, Petspace has seen 160 young clients through the course, with positive results.

“We did pre and post-mental health testing and we saw a 30 per cent reduction in mental health distress cause, post-program. Whether that was attributable to the animal connection, as well as the social connections that they made getting out of the house and being active, we're not sure. But clearly, that was a really significant impact,” Stephanie says.

Eizabeth completed the Petspace program in 2019. She explained to Uniting that after she finished high school, she lost her sense of purpose.

“Before I did this course, there were a lot of days where I would not get out of bed…this course gave me a reason to get up every day,” she said.

To find out more about Petspace in NSW, visit the website here.

If you or anyone you know needs help, support is available now. Call Lifeline on 131 114 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. 

You can also text 0477 131 114 or chat to Lifeline online at www.lifeline.org.au with all services now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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