History
The College of Social Work (CSW) and College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) at the University of Tennessee began a working relationship in 1986 through the development of the Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee Program (H.A.B.I.T.). Dr. John New, DVM in addition to founding H.A.B.I.T. with the CSW Dean Dr. Ben Granger, also wrote an article about social work in veterinary settings with his social work colleagues Elaine Netting and Carol Wilson.
This CSW/CVM relationship was rekindled in 2000 with the inception of the UT Veterinary Social Work (VSW) Program through the foresight of Dean Michael Blackwell (CVM) and Dean Karen Sowers (CSW) as well as with the vision of then social work doctoral student, Elizabeth B. Strand, LCSW.
Through her work as a graduate assistant with CSW professor, Dr. Catherine Faver, Dr. Elizabeth Strand, LCSW saw the clear vision of how social work and veterinary medicine intersect in both micro and macro levels. The social work literature had attended to animals for over 30 years and had generally covered four main topics areas: the link between human and animal violence, grief and loss, animal assisted interventions, and compassion fatigue. What social work had not done was provide a “home” for social work and animals, nor a best practice for this work. Thus the idea for “Veterinary Social Work- a sub-specialty of social work practice” was solidified and formally named at the University of Tennessee.
In the spring of 2002, two students in the Master of Science in Social Work program requested animal-related field placements. Dean Karen Sowers approached Dr. Strand with the intention of creating a cooperative program between the CSW and the CVM. Dr. Strand met with CVM administration to present the idea for veterinary social work based on social work literature to date. Dr. John New, Head of the Department of Comparative Medicine, was instantly a strong supporter of the program. Dr. New urged Dr. Strand to present the proposal to the Associate Dean, Dr. James Brace. After Dr. Brace accepted the proposal, Dr. Strand prepared for the implementation of the program through research of similar programs and visiting with Dr. Susan Cohen, Director of Counseling at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Cohen was one of the first social workers to conduct formal work in this area and founded the first pet loss group in the country. In addition, Dr. Strand oriented herself to CVM and worked diligently to cultivate relationships within the CVM and Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
In August of 2002, Veterinary Social Work Services was launched with Dr. Strand acting as supervisor to two MSSW students. By February of 2004, after completing her dissertation, Dr. Elizabeth Strand was appointed Director of VSWS, a joint appointment between CSW and CVM.
In the beginning, VSW’s primary responsibility was to provide clinical services and support to pet owners, vet students, interns, residents, staff, and faculty. Since then, VSW has expanded its services to include a pet loss group for bereaved pet owners, a mindfulness based stress management group and communication class for staff and faculty of CVM, and a compassion fatigue group for area animal related professionals. VSW also facilitates a yearly Educational Series, a series of noon-time lectures addressing human related topics of interest to the College and University.
UT VSW now has a name for it’s clinical programs called PAUSE- People and Animal United in Service and Education. This is because the term “veterinary social work” now describes a scope of practice and not a program. UT VSW is the umbrella program that includes graduate training at the BA, MSSW and Ph.D. level of social work education as well as continuing education for practicing social workers.
UT VSW hosted the first social work conference dedicated to human-animal relationships in April of 2008. The Veterinary Social Work Summit will be hosted again in May of 2009.