CFTH Podcast - Episode 3

Welcome to the third episode. Today we talk with Augusta O’Reilly, a LCSW and Veterinary Social Worker (VSW) located in Southern Virginia. She currently works as the Veterinary Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Virginia Tech VA-MD College of Veterinary Medicine, Teaching Hospital. In her role she focuses on supporting families that are experiencing caregiver burnout, pet related grief, and other emotional stress related to their non-human family member. She also supports residents, interns, and clinical year veterinary students with mental health needs; such as compassion fatigue, effective communication and general psychoeducation around mental health.

She is an instructor of Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) at the University of Tennessee in the Veterinary Social Work Certificate Program where she helps educate ethical practices and implementation of AAI with postgraduate students. This led to her being a co-author of the textbook The Comprehensive Guide to Interdisciplinary Veterinary Social Work. Lastly, she is  the current President of the International Association of Veterinary Social Work, where she helps expand the field and educate others about the VSW work being done worldwide.

On today’s show we discuss the One Health intersections of Veterinary Social Work including access to care, diversity, equity and inclusion within the veterinary space and the continued need for access to mental health support for professionals and our clients. We hope you enjoy this conversation and appreciate you being apart of it.

Thanks for listening,

Dr. Steve 🐾

---

Additional Resources:

NOMV

Pride VMC

Blend Vet

International Association of VSW

Vets4Vets

Veterinary Hope Foundation

Veterinary Mental Health Initiative

MentorVet

---

The Sacred Valley, Peru. 📸 @drstevekruzeniski

Dr. Steven Kruzeniski is a Veterinarian and life-long student of One Health, Human Support & Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. For over a decade he has been living and working across The Americas, Africa & Asia. His work combines social veterinary service & educational advocacy for animal welfare; support of veterinary professional wellbeing; and Psychedelic Harm Reduction. He currently provides virtual and in-person wellness support in the Sacred Valley of Peru for people and their beloved pets.