It’s common knowledge that dogs can be trained to give people who are blind a greater degree of independence. But it may come as a surprise to learn that dogs are increasingly being used in the field of psychiatry — in essence, seeing eye dogs for the mind.
Baron, a brown labrador retriever dons a vest and leads Tracy Corso into an Oberlin supermarket. Eight years ago, Corso wasn’t able to leave her house let alone go shopping. She suffers from severe post traumatic stress disorder, having survived physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her adoptive parents.
CORSO: And then on from that I was raped when I was 15, so that’s enough to cause anyone to have post traumatic stress disorder I’m sure.
Leash in one hand cart in the other, Corso walks into the supermarket. She pauses and begins breathing deeply. Apparently sensing his owner’s emotional state, Baron, nudges and licks her left hand…
CORSO: When I first get in somewhere it’s hard for me to stay present. So he’s actually helping me in that way.
And that’s exactly what Jane Miller trained the dog to do…
MILLER: What that does is, it stops her, so the nudging helps her focus again and be able to function.
Miller is a certified dog trainer, a clinical social worker and Tracy Corso’s therapist. Miller also trained the dog to help with another of Corso’s mental health issues—an eating disorder.
CORSO: Sometimes when I’m eating, he tugs on me and says, you know what, it’s time to stop eating. So he helps me with that.
Miller says every service dog is trained to do different things depending on the patients’ needs.
MILLER: Bipolar for example, if someone is entering into a manic episode, the dog will get the medication to keep them from going into a manic episode.
Miller says the dog is drained to pick up on cues from the owner—sweating, shaking, heavy breathing, that might indicate the onset of an episode. The patients keep their medication in a plastic bag that’s always left in the same place so the dog knows where to find it. Miller says the animals can also help people with obsessive compulsive disorder.
MILLER: IF THE PATIENT’S SYMPTOM IS PICKING AT HIS HEAD, FOR EXAMPLE, the dog can be trained to TUG AT THE PATIENT’S ARM TO STOP THEM.
Because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the number of troops returning with mental illnesses, demand for psychiatric service dogs is on the rise. And Miller says that’s putting a strain on the handful of non-profits that do the training.
MILLER: Organizations are struggling because there is quite a demand and that demand is increasing.
Organizations estimate the cost of the two year training is 20 thousand dollars. The patients who receive the dogs pay nothing, or very little for them. There are several bills working their way through Congress that would provide more money to organizations that do the training and give patients a hand with the costs of maintaining their dogs.
{sound of checkout counter}
Back at the supermarket Tracy Corso begins the part of the shopping process she most fears—checkout. When a customer in line behind her steps too near, the dog responds by getting in the middle, creating a barrier of sorts. That’s another thing the labrador was trained to do.
CORSO: He creates space between me and the next person behind me.
REPORTER: Could you have done this interview with me before you had the dogs?
CORSO: Heck no. I couldn’t have brought myself to say hello.
Watching Corso navigate the supermarket with her dog, there is little doubt the dog has made a huge difference in her ability to complete everyday tasks. Yet, there is little empirical evidence of their value. The U-S Department of Defense has begun a year-long study comparing soldiers with PTSD who have psychiatric service dogs to those without. Initial results appear very promising.
As owner and dog leave the store, Corso removes the animal’s vest—and Baron drops his professional demeanor—acknowledging for the first time the reporter holding a microphone.
{ all done buddy…all done! Go shake it off…say hello…good boy}
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