Todd Brossart (MSW '08) shows a badly chewed dog dish to a class of first graders. "Rusty chewed this while I was away from home," he says, petting the 2-year-old Golden Retriever at his side. "Why do you think he did that?" The answers spark a discussion about worry, friendship and bullying.
Brossart was a mental health case manager in Minnesota for two years after earning his Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree. "It was rewarding," he says, "but I wanted more creativity and options--more tools in the toolbox."
Once he learned about GSSW's unique Animal-Assisted Social Work (AASW) Certificate, he knew he'd found the right school. He entered the MSW program with advanced standing in the summer of 2007 and had his degree in hand just one year later.
Teaming up with Rusty
Through the AASW Certificate program, Brossart and Rusty became a human-animal therapy team.
A collaboration between GSSW's Institute for Human-Animal Connection and Freedom Service Dogs provides certificate students like Brossart with hands-on training to select, handle, own and care for professional therapy dogs to be included in their social work practice. The dogs benefit from the program as much as the students do--all, including Rusty, have been rescued from shelters.
"We believe that professional training by an organization like Freedom Service Dogs, paired with rigorous academic work at GSSW, is a necessary step towards development of safe and effective animal-assisted human services," says Prof. Philip Tedeschi, AASW Certificate Coordinator. "We are pleased to have created the first such program in the United States."
Learning to make friends
Brossart chose the High-Risk Youth track within the MSW program and selected a field internship in a suburban elementary school. There he and Rusty worked with a variety of groups
and individuals, including a child with autism who learned how to interact with his
classmates by first learning how to approach Rusty.
"Rusty has a calming effect on the kids," Brossart explains. "And they're much more
open with me because he is there."
He cites the example of the chewed dog dish and how readily the children empathized with Rusty's anxiety when his owner was gone for a long time. They talked about how it feels to be worried. Then one of the kids said, "I worry about people who are bullies."
"So we talked about how to be a good friend," says Brossart, "how to approach others in a friendly way like Rusty does. We had a great discussion."
Future plans
Brossart also conducted a research project at the school, using pre- and post-tests to determine whether interventions like these increase children's pro-social behaviors (like empathy) over time.
As he looks forward to a career in social work with children, Brossart is considering whether to stay in Colorado, return to Minnesota or perhaps move to another part of the country. But he knows one thing for sure: he and Rusty are a team for life.
