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Visits with HABIT Dogs Provide Mental Health Support to Students at the Pride Center

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While mental health challenges have become common across the general population, students in the LGBTQ+ community sometimes experience these with increased severity. Students in this community may have difficult relationships with family, and as a result may be more likely to be paying for school independent of any familial support. Anxiety and stress over both family and financial challenges can lead to a tense collegiate experience.

To help combat these challenges and encourage students, UT’s Pride Center partnered with the Human Animal Bond in Tennessee (HABIT) program to provide therapy dogs to students on a weekly basis during the 2023–2024 academic year and the program is continuing into the current year as well. Dogs and their handlers visit the Pride Center community space on campus for an hour each week and students can visit, play, and receive mental health support in the form of puppy snuggles, laughter, and light-natured play time with furry friends.

“When it comes to mental health, a lot of the students we see in the Pride Center are dealing with anxiety, stress, financial issues, and a host of challenges with family relationships,” states Bonnie Johnson, director of the Pride Center.

Having a HABIT dog visit the Pride Center creates a fun and safe space where students can receive information about resources and support on campus, all while experiencing greater peace and calm.

“We can’t always fix their problems, but we can sit with them in their pain,” adds Johnson. “And that’s one of the key elements of animal therapy. Therapy animals provide unconditional love and reassurance. They’re there to just sit with you no matter what you’re going through.”

“Therapy animals provide unconditional love and reassurance. They’re there to just sit with you no matter what you’re going through.” -Bonnie Johnson, Director, Pride Center

Johnson adds that providing comfort to students as they navigate barriers can have a significant benefit for students’ mental health, especially as they face societal challenges that may take a long time to change.

The program received so much positive feedback from students that visits with a second HABIT dog were added to the regular weekly schedule at the tail end of the fall semester last year. For 2024–2025, the HABIT therapy dogs are splitting duty with visits happening at the Pride Center and through Multicultural Student Life.