Finding New Ways to Heal: How Horses, Snakes, and a Social Work Education Are Expanding Clinical Therapy

A Lifetime of Loving Animals—and One Life-Changing Hedgehog

For Dustin, who is set to graduate in May 2026, this path began long before he ever set foot in a social work classroom.

“I’ve always loved animals,” he explains. “As a kid I was constantly bringing them home—roly-polies, lizards, hermit crabs, snakes.”

Snakes especially fascinated him. At first, they were the stuff of fear in the form of Discovery Channel warnings and cultural myths. But the more he learned, the more he felt they were deeply misunderstood.

“They’re important to the environment and not at all what people fear,” he says. “I think a lot of young people relate to that feeling of being misunderstood.”

He begged his mom for a snake. She said no, a heartbreak that resulted in a compromise: a prairie dog instead. Years later, Dustin found his way into the world of exotic animals professionally, working at expos that featured hedgehogs, sugar gliders, snakes, spiders, and more.

It was there that he met the young girl who would change the course of his life. She was about 12 or 13, essentially non-verbal, and came to the expo with her grandmother.

“Her grandmother helped her pick out a hedgehog,” he recalls. “She didn’t make eye contact with me or speak—just small nods.”

Three months later, when they returned to that city, the same girl walked directly up to him and said, “Would you like to see my hedgehog?”

The transformation was undeniable.

“I’ve always loved animals,” he explains. “As a kid I was constantly bringing them home—roly-polies, lizards, hermit crabs, snakes.”

“Over the next four years, I watched her grow into someone with interests, confidence, and eventually career aspirations,” Dustin says. “She’s now in cosmetology school.”

Through conversations with her grandmother, a powerful insight emerged: as the girl learned to advocate for the hedgehog—what it needed, how it should be cared for—she also learned to advocate for herself.

“That moment changed my life,” he says. “I thought, if a hedgehog can spark that, why not snakes? And that’s where this pursuit began.”

Snake-assisted therapy is still emerging, but early observations, practice wisdom, and preliminary work suggest that snakes may offer a unique pathway to connection, particularly for people who don’t respond to more traditional animal-assisted approaches.

Some research and case narratives suggest that people on the autism spectrum may approach snakes without the same preconceived expectations or social pressure they might feel with dogs. Snakes can pique curiosity and, for some, help regulate the nervous system in unexpected ways.

Dustin has seen the power of nontraditional animals time and time again. He’s worked with many exotic species, including spider monkeys, whose cognitive abilities are often compared to those of young children.

“There have been days where I’ve gone in feeling really low,” he says, “and their natural grooming and calming behaviors pulled me out of it. Anyone can bond with an animal—dog, cat, spider, snake, or horse—but snakes do something for me that I still don’t fully understand. That’s why I’m researching it.”

Why Social Work? Why GCSW?

Ask Dustin why he chose social work, and he’ll say he feels like he’s been doing it for years.

He spent much of his early adulthood providing emotional support, even before he had the language of “practice,” “ethics,” or “clinical intervention.” Coming to the Graduate College of Social Work gave him two things: a professional home and institutional support to explore an unconventional idea.

“GCSW allowed me to study what I’d already been doing,” he says, “and to explore whether snake-based therapy could be possible. And the answer is yes.”

That spirit of possibility echoes the College’s campaign question: What Can We Do With an Advanced Social Work Degree?

Heroes, Mentors, and the Power of Being Believed In

Ask Dustin why he chose social work, and he’ll say he feels like he’s been doing it for years.

He spent much of his early adulthood providing emotional support, even before he had the language of “practice,” “ethics,” or “clinical intervention.” Coming to the Graduate College of Social Work gave him two things: a professional home and institutional support to explore an unconventional idea.

But in social work, his hero stands directly by his side. Clinical Professor Donna Amtsberg, LCSW,” he says. Professor Amtsberg— whose trauma-centered work is rooted in equine-assisted therapy (EAT)— took my interests seriously, believed in me, and brought me into her world. That changed my life.”

Dustin’s work reminds us that clinical innovation doesn’t always come from new technology or diagnostic tools. Sometimes, it begins with a hedgehog, or a snake resting quietly in someone’s hands—and social workers willing to ask, What else is possible?