Stimulus Spring/Summer 2008 Issue



>> Return to the Stimulus Spring/Summer 2008 Special Media Enhanced Features page.

>> View the Video Tour.	TOUR THE COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE Learn more about the Veterinary Social Work program by watching Dr. Elizabeth Strand's guided tour. "There is an active building project going on... in our new location we'll have two rooms dedicated to veterinary social work..."

>>View the Video for Question No. 1.	QUESTION 1: While working on your doctorate, what lead you to decide to focus on veterinary social work? "It came into my head that we needed to develop a best practice [model] and to develop a subspecialty such as we have in oncological social work..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 2.	QUESTION 2: How did the Veterinary Social Work program begin? Was it primarily practice or research? "Practice concerning issues such as pet loss, euthanasia decision-making, and crisis intervention in the clinic; we work to provide resources for the clients..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 3.	QUESTION 3: What types of services do Veterinary Social Workers offer to their clients? "We really are implementing the same approaches for intervention in this environment that you would find in a human medical hospital..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 4.	QUESTION 4: How do Veterinary Social Workers find their clients? "Sometimes clients come into the hospital and know about our program... and they request us directly. But the majority of referrals come from the staff and faculty..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 5.	QUESTION 5: Dr. Elizabeth Strand, Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program, and Ms. Danielle Groeling, Assistant Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program, are asked, "What services does the Veterinary Social Work program offer to veterinarians?". "Veterinarians experience death at five times the rate that human doctors do, so they will often experience compassion fatigue..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 6	QUESTION 6: Ms. Danielle Groeling, Assistant Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program, answers the question, "What is an average day like for a Veterinary Social Worker?". "It can get wild and wooly sometimes...but really it's being ready to deal with any situation at any time... "

>> View the Video for Question No. 7.	QUESTION 7: How many programs across the country offer a program similar to the University of Tennessee's Veterinary Social Work program? (Featuring Dr. Elizabeth Strand, Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program, and Ms. Danielle Groeling, Assistant Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program.) "When we started the program only 17 of the nation's veterinary schools had mental health professionals onsite..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 8.	QUESTION 8: In what way do you expect to see the Veterinary Social Work program expand in the near future in regards to current Social Workers within the field and also with incoming students? (Featuring Dr. Elizabeth Strand, Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program, and Ms. Danielle Groeling, Assistant Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program.) "We get calls from social workers who are actively integrating animals into their practice, and they're saying, 'Oh my gosh, there's something called veterinary social work?'"

>> View the Video for Question No. 9.	QUESTION 9: Ms. Danielle Groeing anwsers the question, "In what way is the compassion shown by a Veterinary Social Worker to a client, who has recently suffered a pet loss, different from the sympathy they would receive from family and friends?" "We do individual grief counseling with people who do not have the support of friends or family and we also run a pet-loss support group..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 10.	QUESTION 10: What are the various ways in which clients meet and interact with Veterinary Social Workers? (Featuring Dr. Elizabeth Strand, Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program, and Ms. Danielle Groeling, Assistant Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program.) "Unlike a tradional counseling session where you have a begining and end to your time, we'll often work with clients for 4 hours in a day. And that day may expand from 6 am all the way to 10 pm that night..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 11.	QUESTION 11: How does the interaction between the Human Animal Bond in Tennessee (H.A.B.I.T.) and the Companion Animal Initiative in Tennessee (C.A.I.T.) contribute to Veterinary Social Work training? (Featuring Dr. Elizabeth Strand, Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program, and Ms. Danielle Groeling, Assistant Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program.) "Our interactions with two programs here in the college...makes it possible for Veterinary Social Work to offer Veterinary training..."

>> View the Video for Question No. 12.	QUESTION 12: Dr. Elizabeth Strand, Director of the UT Veterinary Social Work program, speaks about the ways in which people pay for the College of Veterinary Social Work services. "Right now the services are free, so if a pet owner comes here to the veterinary teaching hospital then they have access to us. One area where we are going to start charging in the near future is with our presentations in the community."

>> Return to the Stimulus Spring/Summer 2008 Special Media Enhanced Features page.

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Stimulus Spring/Summer 2008 Issue

"There is an active building project going on... in our new location we'll have two rooms dedicated to veterinary social work..."

"It came into my head that we needed to develop a best practice [model] and to develop a subspecialty such as we have in oncological social work..."

"Practice concerning issues such as pet loss, euthanasia decision-making, and crisis intervention in the clinic; we work to provide resources for the clients..."

"We really are implementing the same approaches for intervention in this environment that you would find in a human medical hospital..."

"Sometimes clients come into the hospital and know about our program... and they request us directly. But the majority of referrals come from the staff and faculty..."

"Veterinarians experience death at five times the rate that human doctors do, so they will often experience compassion fatigue..."

"It can get wild and wooly sometimes...but really it's being ready to deal with any situation at any time... "

"When we started the program only 17 of the nation's veterinary schools had mental health professionals onsite..."

"We get calls from social workers who are actively integrating animals into their practice, and they're saying, 'Oh my gosh, there's something called veterinary social work?'"

"We do individual grief counseling with people who do not have the support of friends or family and we also run a pet-loss support group..."

"Unlike a tradional counseling session where you have a begining and end to your time, we'll often work with clients for 4 hours in a day. And that day may expand from 6 am all the way to 10 pm that night..."

"Our interactions with two programs here in the college...makes it possible for Veterinary Social Work to offer Veterinary training..."

"Right now the services are free, so if a pet owner comes here to the veterinary teaching hospital then they have access to us. One area where we are going to start charging in the near future is with our presentations in the community."