Pet therapy: the solution against exam anxiety
You have tried them all to arrive calmly on the day of the exam and face it with serenity, but you have certainly never thought of this solution: bring your four-legged friend with you.
Yet there are cases in which the presence of a dog can really be miraculous:
Exams alongside your dog: Gabriele Antonelli's winning proposal
The idea of overcoming the typical anxiety of university exams thanks to the company of your pet is the merit of Gabriele Antonelli, a student of the animal welfare and protection course at the veterinary faculty of Teramo.
The initiative stems from his experimental degree thesis thanks to which the students of the Abruzzo university, with the support of Gabriele's teachers, were invited to come to one of the dates of the July session with their dogs. The proposal, according to Gabriele, was in fact received in the best way:
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"Right from the start there was great willingness on the part of my classmates and the university. The rector, the faculty deans and the teachers showed enthusiasm for my idea and supported me."
The dogs that participated in the first experiments were selected by Gabriele with the help of his teacher and the veterinarians present in the Veterinary Hospital of the faculty.
To develop his project Gabriele was inspired by the "habit of resorting to pet therapy already practiced in the American universities of Yale and Harvard, as well as the same practice adopted by many workplaces where the presence of dogs and cats has increased health and employee productivity.
"In the United States, they have found that taking an exam with their pet next to them helps the student to overcome anxiety and panic. It is a kind of psychological support. Similar initiatives have also been carried out in Australia and in English colleges".
The results of the pet therapy experiment
"It almost felt like you didn't have to take an exam."
The students of the Teramo faculty reacted in a decidedly positive way to Gabriele's experimental test. The company of their animals during the waiting and the conduct of the oral tests has contributed considerably to reduce the tension before the exam and to make the atmosphere more serene and positive.
This is what resulted from the tests that Gabriele submitted to his companions to understand the effects of animals on their level of anxiety.
For students who are in the habit of falling into pre-exam panic, this tactic can have an important twist.
To motivate Gabriele was also his personal experience, having a disabled brother on whom he was able to notice the beneficial effects of this type of therapy. As Gabriele argues, in Italy pet therapy activities are not yet widespread enough. Yet the therapy has proven to have excellent psychophysical consequences on people of all ages, suffering from different phobias and problems. We therefore hope that the positive outcome of his experiment, already expanding in the other faculties of the city of Teramo, will increase this practice. At the next exam, however, we want them like this:
