TSN's Canine Crisis Response Program


A trained crisis response dogs can work as easily with first responders as they would with the victims.
Canine Crisis Response
Trauma Support Network (TSN) is a collaborative system of services provided by trained trauma professionals, providing counseling, support and intervention to help people after a traumatic loss. Its purpose is to strengthen families by mitigating the effects of violent events. TSN responds to homicides, suicides, vehicular accidents and other fatal accidents throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. TSN’s Canine Crisis Response (CCR) Teams are an additional tool available in TNS’s multi-disciplinary approach to traumatic events to be used with victims to prevent long-term critical health issues. TSN's CCR teams are extensively trained and certified to provide animal-assisted emotional support when partnering with disaster mental health and emergency response agencies that provide emotional rescue, recovery and on-going support to individuals who have been affected by crisis and/or disaster.
	Besides assisting in crisis intervention, the teams also volunteer on a regular basis to provide animal-assisted therapy visits, animal-assisted activities or animal-assisted education to schools, hospitals and health care facilities. What can one of TSN’s Canine Crisis Response Teams do? Trauma produces a sense of isolation from normal life. “ Research shows that petting a dog produces a biological state of enhanced relaxation. It draws people out of themselves, closer to others in dialogue, rather than excluding and sealing them off.” - James J Lynch, Ph.D. TSN’s Canine Crisis Response Teams are based upon those ideas. TSN’s teams are a liason between families and first responders working hand-in-hand with police, fire and emergency medical personnel. When applicable, they can provide a dog to be there with the traumatized individual. The dog can be petted and hugged. It can also simply provide a non-judgmental ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. What is the benefit of TSN’s Canine Crisis Response Teams at a crisis? It is not appropriate to have a Canine Crisis Response Team at every crisis. TSN’s Canine Crisis Response Teams are a unique treatment tool that has the potential to enable mental health professionals and/or emergency responders to work with hard-to-reach individuals.
General observations indicate the presence of a dog may make crisis client sessions more pleasurable and productive and improve therapeutic outcomes. Crisis clients of all ages experience calming effects, brightening of mood and increased motivation when a dog is present during treatment. Participants in studies involving companion animals (pets) show improvement in self-esteem, psychological well being, and community integration. TSN’s Canine Crisis Response Teams can also help the responders. While TSN’s canine teams are usually there for the crisis clients, these visits tend to provide stress relief, lift the spirits of emergency workers and at least temporarily take their focus off of the emotionally difficult parts of their work. The same positive physiological and psychological effects experienced by crisis clients also impact the emergency workers. Other benefits that are seen in crisis clients and responders after a TSN canine team visit: stress relief improved communication better attention to task increased ability to organize improved self-esteem improved confidence better mood overall For more information, please contact Nicolette Gundersen.