Sigmund F. Welsch isn’t your typical therapist.
As stressed-out students walk onto the second floor of the Counseling and Wellness Center, they’re greeted by the 1-year-old Havanese with wet kisses.
“He gives kisses to all the students,” said Paula Dragutsky, the second-floor secretary.
Psychologists Barbara Welsch and Jennifer Stuart have brought in therapy dogs like Sigmund for a year to help relieve students’ anxiety during counseling sessions.
As new students flock to their first college classes, they can get overwhelmed with homework or feelings of loneliness, Welsch said.
“Something about petting animals lowers blood pressure,” she said.
Sigmund, with his long, wispy hair and 11-pound frame, prefers to chase his toys — when he isn’t jumping in patients’ laps.
When students come in for an appointment, Sigmund sits with them during the counseling sessions. Welsch said he picks up on patients’ body language and knows when to console them.
With the mounting stress of college classes, she said, some students find him to be a welcome relief.
“Students become irritable, sad, anxious and have increased worries,” Welsch said. “Some may display more physical symptoms like headaches or shoulder and neck pain.”
To work at the counseling center, Sigmund had to pass tests, too. Welsch said he and other therapy dogs were tested on their ability to stay happy and cheerful while being subjected to unusual noises, numerous patients, and unfamiliar objects like wheelchairs and crutches.
Sigmund and Gabe, a 5-year-old shih tzu, are the only therapy dogs at the center, but there’s talk of adding a third dog, Welsch said.
Therapy dogs were added to the counseling center, in part, because some students see counseling as intimidating. Welsch said a happy puppy can help patients relax and open up about what’s bothering them.
“They smile more and interact with each other more,” Welsch said.
Sigmund likes to make his presence known by prancing around the center, Welsch said. Gabe is quieter but will look at patients with his big eyes and cock his tiny head to the side, sometimes on command.
Dragutsky said these hard-working pups have made a big impact on many students and staff.
“I’ve seen amazing reactions how students interact,” she said. “I can see that they can calm them and cheer them up sometimes.”
Certified therapy dog Sigmund, a 1-year-old Havanese, and Barbara Welsch, licensed psychologist at UF’s Counseling and Wellness Center, wait for patients on the second floor of the center on Wednesday afternoon.
