Center for Veterinary Social Work

08/26/2026

HABIT like every other program in East Tennessee has a Dolly Parton conection. She would do a meet a greet with fans, and occastionally when she knew that there would be kids there she would ask HABIT teams to come and work the event so that the kids would have something to pet while they waited. This picture has been in the HABIT office for years, and every once in a while someone would ask about it, and it was an off hand "Oh yeah, we know Dolly". Now it will be a " yes we knew Dolly, and we were blessed for it."

08/26/2026

🎙️ New episode! Matthew Knight, a PhD candidate in Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Graduate Research Assistant at the Center for Veterinary Social Work, joins us to talk about his latest research.

Matt's work focuses on the human-animal bond, with particular interest in service dog partnerships, moral injury, and posttraumatic growth. His research speaks to something deeply human: the way our animals can walk beside us through some of life's hardest chapters.

🎧 Tune in to hear how service dog partnerships support healing and growth.

Listen on: 🔊 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ip12t62ARaBEnRUPwU5ea 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/apa-hai/id1818800679 📦 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dbd713c7-781b-47be-8b91-f651ad4ffbde/apa-hai

08/26/2026

We still have some slots left in our Emotional CPR course!
https://vetmed-ut.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/courses/emotional-cpr

08/22/2026

The UT College of Social Work is thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr. Shelby McDonald as the All Creatures Great and Small Endowed Professor, starting August 1. An internationally recognized scholar whose interdisciplinary work focuses on human–animal interaction (HAI), trauma, and health e...

08/20/2026

🐾 New research from CVSW-affiliated researchers!
Matthew Knight, Dr. Zenithson Ng, and Jeanine Fletcher examined how animal-assisted services, psychiatric service dogs, and nature-based programs may relate to moral injury among military veterans.
Their review found promising connections with social connection, moral emotions, and meaning and purpose, while also identifying an important gap: only 1 of 18 studies directly measured moral injury.
Congratulations to Matthew, Zenny, and Jeanine on this important contribution!
📄 Read and download the full open-access study:
https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2026.0034

08/15/2026

Welcome to the class of 2030!

08/13/2026

Ever felt helpless trying to support someone going through an emotional crisis? Wish you felt more confident in what to say, how to listen, or simply how to be there?

Emotional CPR (eCPR) is an evidence-based, peer-support training that teaches practical skills for connecting with and supporting someone experiencing emotional distress.

Through Connecting, emPowering, and Revitalizing, eCPR helps us become more intentional listeners and more effective supporters—skills we can use with colleagues, friends, family members, and others in our communities.

I’m excited to co-facilitate this upcoming 2-day virtual eCPR training with Cami Burton, hosted by the University of Tennessee Center for Veterinary Social Work!

Everyone is welcome! We’ll also have several veterinary and animal-care professionals participating, making this a great opportunity for those working in animal-focused professions to learn and connect with one another.

📅 August 28 & 29, 2026
⏰ 10:30 AM–5:00 PM Eastern
💻 Virtual
🎓 Participants who complete the full 12-hour training will receive a certificate of completion as an eCPR Practitioner

Register here: https://vetmed-ut.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/courses/emotional-cpr

08/11/2026

We are hosting an online Emotional CPR workshop on August 28 & 29, 2026 from 10:30 - 5:00pm Eastern each day. Sign up here: https://vetmed-ut.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/courses/emotional-cpr

To learn more about Emotional CPR: https://emotional-cpr.org/

What is Emotional CPR?“eCPR is an educational program designed to teach anyone to assist another person through an emotional crisis by three simple steps of C=Connecting, P=emPowering, and R=Revitalizing. The Connecting section of eCPR involves deepening listening skills. The emPowering section he...

08/07/2026

We're pleased to welcome Shelby McDonald, PhD as the Director of the Center for Veterinary Social Work and All Creatures Great & Small Endowed Professor. Check out her profile!

View the University of Tennessee Knoxville profile of Shelby Elaine McDonald. Including their scholarly and creative works, sponsored projects and teaching.

07/31/2026