Brainstorm Your Own Idea
Law Firm 6: Alejandra Murillo, Rachel Domenech, Lucas Simmons, Keylen Vinas, Claudia Alfaro Ponce, Eddie Cohen, Emilie Gebara
One of the leading health issues our country faces is mental health issues. As of 2023, 52.9 million Americans live with some form of mental illness. For individuals who have mental health issues access to resources can be limited. Additionally, the ability to find coping methods can cause great stress for Americans due to the lack of resources and understanding of mental illness. Due to the mental health crisis in our country, we decided an impactful business venture would be a Dog Therapy center. According to the national institute of mental health “treatment for mental illnesses usually consists of therapy, medication or a combination of the two”. Our business aims to support individuals who need mental illness resources but are not ready to begin receiving conventional treatments. Also, individuals who already receive treatment but may need additional support in their routine and mental health journey would benefit from this business. As stated by Psychology today, “Animals can provide a sense of calm, comfort, or safety and divert attention away from a stressful situation and toward one that provides pleasure”. Our center would allow people to have an outlet to detach from their stressors and anxiety through interacting with dogs.
The center would have an appointment system of 30 minute to 1-hour sessions where people can come in and interact with our service dogs. The dogs at our center would be trained and the owners will be screened to ensure they are equipped to work with their dogs to help others. It is also scientifically proven that having pets can boost your serotonin. However, not all homes and people can care for a pet so our business will also support people in that circumstance. In addition, our business hopes to expand to support animals that are in dog shelters that can become therapeutic animals in addition to hiring dogs and dog owners that are experienced in dog therapy. These dogs in turn can also be adopted by people which can help alleviate the stress shelters face and help these dogs find companionship.
References:
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). (n.d.). Major depression. Retrieved from
Psychology Today. (n.d.). Animal-assisted therapy. Retrieved from
