As many know, September is Suicide Awareness Month. Mental health is a critical issue that many college students struggle with and are unsure how to handle. A study done in 2023 found that 36% of college students have diagnosed anxiety and 30% with depression, two leading contributors to suicide. Another 2023 study found that 13.6% of adults aged 18 to 25 have serious thoughts of committing suicide.
Because of this, Villanova has many resources, not only this month but all year, to help support students. This past Wednesday, POWER, a student-run organization at the Center for Health Promotion, brought back Pet Therapy for the first time this year. The event included five trained therapy dogs and one therapy bunny. All the pets were very well-behaved and seemed more excited than some of the students attending to be there.
The Center for Health Promotion decided to bring Pet Therapy to Villanova because students had expressed missing their family pets or simply wanted to be around animals. Research has shown that when college students who interact once with emotional support animals have a significant decrease in anxiety, depression and loneliness.
Research has shown that Villanova students engaging in Pet Therapy, even for only five minutes, had a significant change in their respiratory rate and even had more positive changes in heart rate and attitude than those who did light exercise or listened to music to help cope with anxiety and depression. Pet Therapy is not only being offered during the month of September, but it will also be hosted at least two Wednesdays a month in the Health Services Building in Room 113.
“Students should approach pet therapy with openness and willingness to connect,” Stacy Andes, Director of Health Services at Villanova, said. “The animals are accompanied by their owners, and so many of our students also get to know the owners as well as they get to know the animals that often come every week. It is about relationship building and connection, as much as it is about animals”
Another amazing resource is the student run Bandanna Project. This club focuses on destigmatizing mental health on campus and wants to help students cope with their mental struggles.
Students have probably seen people on campus with neon green bandanas tied to their backpacks. These bandanas symbolize not only that they are a member of the Bandana Project, but that they are an advocate for mental health and a supporter to those in need.
They have meetings every week with different topics surrounding mental health to promote awareness and provide information, as well as having different guest speakers to give a professional perspective and let students know about the resources available on and off-campus. The project also wants people to know that it is not only for people who struggle with their mental health, but also those who know loved ones struggling or simply want to learn more about the topic.
In a systematic review by Frontiers in Psychiatry, it was found that intervention and discussion about mental health had a positive impact on stress and stigma in participants. The main goal of the Bandana Project is to do just that, by allowing students to feel comfortable and supported on campus.
Both POWER’s pet therapy and the Bandana Project’s meetings are extremely beneficial to all students on campus and are a great resource for those looking for mental support. View the Health Center’s website at https://www1.villanova.edu/university/health-services/health-promotion/events.html for future dates and times of pet therapy and follow the Bandana Project on Instagram, @bandana.project.nova.,to get updates on events.
