Group work in Trafford CAMHS

Trafford CAMHS recently ran a dog desensitisation group with three young people who where experiencing some difficulties due to their dog phobias. It was identified that these young people would benefit from some psychological input to manage their dog phobia as this was having a significant impact on their daily lives.

The group was run by a trainee psychologist and an assistant psychologist supervised by a senior clinical psychologist using a behavioural-based group intervention to target their fears. The group ran for 7 sessions and covered information about dogs, psychoeducation around anxiety, coping skills and strategies, and a rationale for completing exposure work to overcome anxieties.

The group had the opportunity to work with a dog for three sessions and were been able to complete various challenges on a graded hierarchy. Each member of the group managed to achieve her initial goal of overcoming their fears and being more comfortable around dogs. This was achieved partly by completing homework weekly, with the help of parents. One parent wrote to the clinicians involved and commented as follows, "this work shows how a child's life can be changed if they are listened to, her quality of life has improved greatly in such a short time".

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