Sometimes connection starts with a wagging tail. 🐾
At Keokuk High School, Ozzie Ray — therapy dog for GPAEA school psychologist Jennifer Ferguson — helps create a calm, welcoming space where students feel safe to engage, reflect, and grow.
With Ozzie by their side, two GPAEA professionals, school social worker Jennifer Ferguson, and school psychologist, Cristina White, serving Keokuk High School — have partnered to launch a new small-group intervention focused on student well-being and emotional growth.
The group is built around An ACT Experiential Group for Adolescents curriculum by Louise Hayes, which uses hands-on, experiential learning to teach Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills in developmentally appropriate ways. Through art-based activities, role-playing, metaphor, and guided reflection, students learn to notice and accept difficult thoughts and feelings, focus on the present moment, clarify personal values, and commit to meaningful actions rather than avoiding challenges. The curriculum often draws on the DNA-V framework — Discoverer, Noticer, Advisor, and Values — to make abstract concepts tangible and relevant for adolescents.
Currently, the group includes two students, allowing for individualized attention and deeper connection. Sessions emphasize values exploration, mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and resilience-building through active participation and creative expression.
What makes this group especially unique is the facilitators’ approach. Rather than simply leading the sessions, both GPAEA providers fully participate alongside students — creating art, engaging in activities, and sharing reflections. Ozzie Ray’s presence adds an extra layer of comfort and connection, helping students feel supported as they practice new skills and build resilience.
This collaboration reflects GPAEA’s commitment to innovative, relationship-centered mental health services that support emotional growth and well-being within partner schools.
