Enhancing veterinary care through veterinary social services

Purpose

This position statement aims to educate the veterinary sector, government, industry stakeholders, and the public about the emerging field of veterinary social services and the role of Human-Animal Bond Practitioners, including Veterinary Social Workers[1]. It highlights the potential for these disciplines to contribute to improved animal welfare and human-animal bond outcomes, as well as supporting mental health in the veterinary profession.

Position Statement:

  • The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) recognises that the integration of social services within veterinary practices and animal care settings may assist to address interconnected human and animal needs, potentially enhancing outcomes for animals, their custodians, and veterinary professionals.
  • Government support for the adoption of veterinary social services through funding, training programs and multi-disciplinary collaboration should be considered in the future.

Background

Veterinary professionals often encounter clients facing vulnerabilities such as financial hardship, homelessness, domestic violence, and mental health issues. These interactions can contribute to moral stress, burnout and veterinary workforce retention challenges (AVA, 2021; Li et al., 2024; Rogers et al., 2022). Limited training in managing human elements of care exacerbates these issues​.

Veterinary social services is a relatively new discipline which aligns with the principles of One Health, One Welfare, Social Determinants of Health, and the Five Domains of Animal Welfare, recognising the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental wellbeing (McDowall et al., 2023; Richardson, 2023). Strong human-animal bonds provide social, health, and wellbeing benefits (HABRI, 2011; McDowall et al., 2023). Veterinary social services may help overcome barriers to care, enabling custodians to maintain healthy bonds with their animals.

Overview of Veterinary Social Services

‘Veterinary social services’ is the umbrella term for the integration of Human-Animal Bond Practitioners (HABP – see definition below) into veterinary settings involving human-animal interactions.

These services can support owners/carers as well as veterinary teams and animal care workers in managing emotional and social challenges when caring for animals and their human guardians, particularly in cases of client vulnerability or disadvantage.

Veterinary social services may have a potential role across a range of veterinary practice-related sectors (including clinics, veterinary education and training, veterinary regulation and telehealth provision) as well as many other settings which have human-animal interactions as their basis, such as: shelters and pounds, animal welfare inspectorates, rescue groups, livestock production industries, pet insurance providers, and emergency animal disaster response teams. By addressing the human-animal bond and related stressors, decision making may be better informed, thus potentially enhancing animal and human welfare (Corrigan et al., 2025; Loue & Linden, 2022; Vincent et al., 2024, 2025).

Definitions

Human Animal Bond Practitioners (HABP)

HABP include a broad category of suitably qualified and experienced professionals from human health and veterinary fields, trained in human-animal interactions, who support the health and wellbeing of both animals and humans (Gutierrez, 2023).

HABP may include:

  • Human health paraprofessionals: Social workers, psychologists, counsellors, occupational therapists, and mental health practitioners with HAB training.
  • Veterinary and Allied professionals: Veterinarians, veterinary nurses/technologists, animal behaviourists, animal welfare officers, with additional HAB training.

As a result of their HAB training, these professionals may facilitate access to a broader support network for animals and their guardians, ensuring that both receive the care necessary to sustain a thriving human-animal bond (McDowall et al., 2025).

Veterinary Social Workers

Veterinary Social Workers are a specific subset of HAPB practitioners. They are qualified (human) social workers, with additional training in the human-animal bond. They use a  holistic approach to understand client perspectives and needs, and assist veterinary teams in their delivery of accessible animal-centred contextualised care, respecting the owner’s unique circumstances and self-determination (McDowall et al., 2023; Noorloos & Wycherley, 2025).

Veterinary Social Work is established internationally with tertiary training programs available[2], but is an emerging discipline in Australia and there are no specific training programs available in Australia to date (Loue & Vincent, 2021).

Veterinary Social Services and Contextualised Care

Veterinary social services may support veterinarians to allow delivery of contextualised care, by providing the necessary social support, resources and links to networks.

Veterinary social services have the potential to be delivered flexibly via:

  • Virtual or tele-support, (ideal for rural/remote areas)
  • On-site support (scheduled or as needed)
  • Embedded HABP within teams for ongoing support

Potential role and benefits of Veterinary Social Services in veterinary practice

Veterinary social services can provide support to clients by linking them to appropriate resources, allowing veterinary teams to focus on the clinical care of the animals. This multidisciplinary and holistic approach can help to improve outcomes for the animal, the animal’s owner/carer, and the veterinary team.

Preliminary evidence suggests the potential benefits may include:

  1. Staff Wellbeing
    • The veterinary team may benefit from having additional resources to offer to the animals’ owners and carers; this may improve outcomes and result in greater job satisfaction (Corrigan et al., 2025; Loue & Linden, 2022; Vincent et al., 2024).
    • The above may potentially reduce the stress and emotional toll on veterinary teams, which may reduce burnout and staff turnover (Corrigan et al., 2025; Loue & Linden, 2022; Vincent et al., 2024).
  2. Owner/Carer and Community Benefits
    • Clients receive professional support in navigating financial, emotional, and logistical challenges, leading to potentially better compliance with treatment plans and improved patient outcomes.
    • Strengthened relationships with clients can lead to increased trust and long-term client retention.
  3. Broader Social Impact
    • HABP, through their shared relationship with clients and their animals, are positioned to recognise clients’ social needs beyond animal care. This insight enables earlier support interventions, benefiting individuals, government, and society.
    • The contribution of an HABP may contribute to public health benefits, particularly in cases where human-animal relationships impact mental and emotional well-being.

Recommendations

  1. The AVA should promote awareness and encourage further research and training into the benefits of veterinary social services in veterinary practice in Australia.
  2. Governments should support research in this field to facilitate the development of education, training, and integration of veterinary social workers, especially in regions with high socioeconomic challenges.

Relevant AVA policies

References

AMA. (2025). Australia’s most comprehensive pet survey shows nearly three quarters of Australian homes now have a pet « Animal Medicines Australia. Animal Medicines Australia. https://animalmedicinesaustralia.org.au/news-and-media/australias-most-comprehensive-pet-survey-shows-nearly-three-quarters-of-australian-homes-now-have-a-pet/

AVA. (2021). The Veterinary Industry Mental health & wellness snapshot. https://www.ava.com.au/siteassets/resources/thrive/documents/the-veterinary-industry—mental-health-wellness-snapshot-1.pdf

Corrigan, V. K., Newman, R. L., Richmond, P., Strand, E. B., & Vaisman, J. M. (2025). The future of flourishing in veterinary medicine: A systems-informed positive psychology approach in veterinary education. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Volume 11-2024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1484412

Gutierrez, L. J. (2023). Careers in One Health: Social Workersʼ Roles in Caring for Humans and Their Companion Animals. In Careers in One Health (pp. 123–125). Routledge.

HABRI. (2011). Research. HABRI. https://habri.org/research/

Li, K., Mooney, E., McArthur, M., Hall, E., & Quain, A. (2024). A comparison between veterinary small animal general practitioners and emergency practitioners in Australia. Part 2: Client-related, work-related, and personal burnout. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 11, 1355511.

Loue, S., & Vincent, A. L. (2021). Directions in veterinary social work. Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 13(4), 633–651.

Loue, Sana., & Linden, Pamela. (2022). The Comprehensive Guide to Interdisciplinary Veterinary Social Work (1st ed. 2022.). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10330-8

McDowall, S., Hazel, S. J., Chittleborough, C., Hamilton-Bruce, A., Stuckey, R., & Howell, T. J. (2023). The Impact of the Social Determinants of Human Health on Companion Animal Welfare. Animals, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13061113

McDowall, S., Hazel, S., Learey, T., Stokes, T., & McArthur, M. (2025). Exploring Social Determinants of Health in Veterinary Technology: A Workshop Approach to Enhancing Companion Animal Welfare and Student Awareness. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, e20240157. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme-2024-0157

Noorloos, J., & Wycherley, K. (2025). Bridging the gap from school to practice: Veterinary social work as the missing link. Veterinary Record, 197(4), 153–154. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.5907

Richardson, C. (2023). One Welfare in Practice: The Role of the Veterinarian—Edited by T Stephens (2021). Published by CRC Press, Park Square, Milton Park, Abington, Oxon OX14 4RN, UK. Animal Welfare, 32. https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2023.13

Rogers, C. W., Murphy, L. A., Murphy, R. A., Malouf, K. A., Natsume, R. E., Ward, B. D., Tansey, C., & Nakamura, R. K. (2022). An analysis of client complaints and their effects on veterinary support staff. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 8(2), 925–934.

Vincent, A., Rauktis, M. E., Maxwell, L., & Knudsen, E. (2025). The Role and Scope of Practice of Veterinary Social Workers in Animal Shelters. Pets, 2(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/pets2010006

Vincent, A., Rautkis, M., Maxwell, L., & Knudsen, E. (2024). Caring for those who care for our pets: Veterinary social workers’ perceived role in veterinary medicine. Social Work in Mental Health, 22(6), 788–806. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2024.2362686

Further Resources

Footnotes

[1] Veterinary social work is an internationally recognised term; however, in Australia the use of “veterinary” is protected in some jurisdictions and may be restricted by legislation. Accordingly, alternative terminology may be used to describe this area of social work practice.

[2] University of Tennessee Centre for Veterinary Social Work and the International Association of Veterinary Social Work