Owned and operated by women, Dorset Pier Mental Health opened on International Women’s Day.
Danielle Rider, a Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist with a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and Amanda Salerno, a Certified Child and Youth Care Practitioner, with a diploma of psychological therapies and completing play therapy fundamentals, started their own private mental health clinic to focus on clients’ comfort and well-being.
One of the ways they do that is through animal therapy. “There’s a lot of research that shows that the presence of an animal reduces your heart rate,” Rider explains. “When you’re coming in to counselling, you’re already at an elevated state because you’re nervous; you have to talk about a lot of difficult things.” Animals can also help foster a sense of connection.