Veterinary social workers: Offering hope and help

It’s no secret that veterinarians face stressors from a variety of sources. If you’re the veterinarian-owner of a large practice, you have staff to oversee, which may include other veterinarians, technicians, practice managers, and front desk staff. If you’re one of several veterinarians in a practice, there’s the possibility that your treatment philosophy or approach is at odds with that of the owner.

Every day, you have sick animals to treat, others in for routine care, and anxious, doting, or demanding pet parents to interface with. High-risk medical decisions come with high stakes, and there may be feelings of guilt and/or despair upon poor outcomes. Your workdays are probably long. And I’ll bet you can’t remember the last time you took a leisurely lunch.

Is it any wonder you sometimes find your heart pounding, your fuse short, or your joie de vivre compromised?

“In clinics, it’s so intense because often there’s no wiggle room,” says Thomas C. Favale, Jr., DVM, LMSW, Assistant Professor of Professional Life Skills at the Lincoln Memorial University Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine. “It’s not like you can just come in late or leave early.”

And there’s always the possibility of a difficult, distressing, or time-consuming case showing up unannounced. Even the time of year can contribute to feelings of stress. The increased demand for euthanasias during (what should be) the cheerful holiday season, for example, can weigh more heavily than it ordinarily might.

These unique stressors have heavy consequences. The  2019 Merck Animal Health Veterinarian Wellbeing Study II, in collaboration with the AVMA, found that burnout rates for veterinarians were higher than for physicians; that veterinarians were more likely to experience suicidal ideations than non-veterinarians; and that they were nearly three times as likely to attempt suicide. Rates of serious psychological distress were higher among female veterinarians, and among younger versus older veterinarians.

The good news is, there is help available. You just have to ask for it.

What is a veterinary social worker?

In 2002, Elizabeth Strand, PhD, LCSW, founded the Veterinary Social Work (VSW) certificate program at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. Under the program’s auspices, licensed mental health professionals, including social workers, must demonstrate competency in the four areas of:

• intentional well-being, which includes an understanding of compassion fatigue and conflict management;
• the link between human and animal violence;
• animal assisted interventions;
• and animal-related grief and bereavement.

Upon completion of the program, veterinary social workers may find themselves called upon to help navigate the stress-inducing, animal-related challenges (like the ones mentioned above) that affect not just veterinarians, but technicians, animal shelter workers, animal control officers, rescue organizations, and others whose jobs or volunteer efforts center around animal health and welfare. They are also a tremendous resource for pet parents, who might need anything from help understanding a pet’s course of treatment to the presence of a compassionate other with a deep understanding of the human-animal bond to accompany them down the difficult path of losing a beloved pet. In the latter role, veterinary social workers also help veterinarians who simply don’t have the time or emotional resources to assist and/or accompany pet parents on every journey.

“Veterinary social workers study the spectrum of human-animal relationships,” says Bethanie Poe, PhD, LMSW, who is the Associate Director of Operations & Education at the Center for Veterinary Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “They then combine this education with their great communication skills, knowledge about mental health and trauma, and the ability to connect people with the resources they need to help in a variety of circumstances.”

According to Poe, there are approximately 200 veterinary social workers nationwide, and their numbers are growing.

If you feel something, say something

Favale frequently lectures veterinary medical students about the importance of self-care. He says it’s one of the most critical messages he imparts to those embarking on a veterinary degree. It’s vitally important to their mental health that students learn to effectively communicate their feelings, beliefs, and needs to another human being, he says, and that they be able to receive the same from others.

“This isn’t just for medical school,” he stresses. These are skills they can (and should) practice in their interpersonal relationships as well. If other areas of their lives are suffering, then whatever is happening on the job will be magnified, and vice versa.

The importance of focusing on the whole person is something that Krista Martin, LISW-CP, LCSW, C-AAIS, a veterinary social worker in Greenville, South Carolina also recognizes. She splits her time between private practice and her work as director of the Veterinary Hope Foundation, where she also facilitates support groups for animal professionals.

“Veterinarians may come to me struggling with last week’s economic euthanasia [an animal euthanized for financial reasons],” she says, “but also they may be dealing with pervasive anxiety that has very little to do with their career, other than [the fact that] being in a field with high secondary-trauma [trauma that results when an individual is exposed to people who have themselves been traumatized] tends to exacerbate one’s own.”

Both Martin and Favale stress the importance of veterinarians learning to set boundaries and to “self-regulate” when it comes to their emotions—which means to be able to recognize and acknowledge difficult emotions and allow them to pass. Likewise, says Martin, the veterinary social worker must also have the ability to self-regulate when it comes to their work with animal professionals.

“I need to regulate my own emotions so I can be present for their experience. If I pull back, that really limits the depth of our connection, and therefore the depth of our work,” she says. This, she adds, is a big piece of all social work training, and specifically veterinary social work training.

Help that helps

Want to connect with a veterinary social worker for yourself or your team?

• Veterinary Social Work Services at the University of Tennessee Knoxville offers six free, individual (in person) or virtual sessions, which you can sign up for here.
• If you are struggling, call the VSWS Helpline at 865-755-8839 , Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. If it is an emergency, call 911.

For teams and organizations, the UTK VSW program offers the following:

• Speaking on veterinary social work-related topics
• Team facilitation for interprofessional/interdisciplinary teams
• Consultation on helping your organization become Veterinary Social Work Informed

To schedule one or more of these services, send an email request to [email protected] or call 865-755-8339.

If you are struggling emotionally, Favale, Martin, and Poe suggest the following:

1. First of all, learn to recognize your own anxiety, stress, sadness, or compassion fatigue. How do these manifest in you? Do you get angry or shut down? Do you drive too fast, eat too much, yell too much, etc.?
2. Don’t be above asking for help. “Most of us [veterinarians] will struggle and try to get through hardships ourselves,” says Favale. The reasons for not asking for help vary, but some feel there is a stigma attached to therapy. There shouldn’t be, but at any rate, rest assured that no one has to know if you seek help with your mental health, whether you choose to talk with a psychologist, a veterinary social worker, or a trusted colleague or friend.
3. Think of yourself as the sky and your emotions as weather. Like clouds and rain, emotions including strong, difficult ones—do eventually pass. Who you are as a person—your talents, abilities and humanity—may be obscured when you are under duress, but don’t confuse the way you feel with the way you “are.”
4. Mindfulness exercises (like meditation) can help you regulate your thoughts, breathing, and heart rate. But you have to make a regular practice of it. Sound too difficult? Maybe you should meet Elliot, Martin’s joyful golden retriever/therapy dog, who is able to breathe deeply on command. “If a dog can learn to breathe deeply on cue, you can too,” says Martin.
5. The nonprofit Veterinary Hope Foundation exists specifically to address “…the mental health and well-being of veterinary professionals.” There are ongoing eight-week online support groups, consisting of eight people, where you can share experiences and resources. Participation is completely confidential.
6. include creating a stress management plan learning to balance work with healthy activities by limiting time on social media (negative reviews and cyberbullying have all been reported by veterinarians) and, if needed, engaging a financial planner to help manage school debt.
7. Above all, do not suffer alone. The job you do is one of the noblest jobs there is. You deserve to get the support you need.

If you are struggling, please reach out to one or more of the following:

[email protected] (helpline 865-755-8839) for help locating resources in your area.

Not One More Vet: nomv.org

Veterinary Hope Foundation: veterinaryhope.org

Veterinary Information Network’s Vets4Vets

Photo credit: PeopleImages / iStock via Getty Images Plus

Disclaimer: The views expressed, and topics discussed, in any NEWStat column or article are intended to inform, educate, or entertain, and do not represent an official position by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) or its Board of Directors.