Improving Well-Being: One Drink, Snack, and Animal at a Time!
by Chantelle Fourie
About the Infographic
The infographic’s purpose is to disseminate the research I conducted to answer whether animal cafes are a beneficial and easy-to-access, mental health outlet leading to other forms of therapies? Can animal cafes reduce the pressure of stigma around therapy and mental health concerning cultural perspectives? The infographic’s motive is to influence people to try and attend an animal café and hopefully will lead people to further explore ways to improve their mental health.
When people go through middle school and high school and when someone is in their old age, people can feel lonely and have distinct kinds of stressors in their lives. The topic of research is important to present an alternative approach to helping people better their mental health. Due to stigmatization around mental health, it can be difficult to talk about. The infographic expresses a way to help people without the pressure of therapy but rather improve one’s well-being. The infographic is organized so that the first page focuses on addressing the difficulty of talking about mental health and animal benefits in general. The second page focuses on animal cafes and how it is beneficial to attend. Also, a variety of animal cafes in the world are noted.
The greens and blues in the infographic are more colour-blind friendly making sure to be inclusive of all audiences. I chose a slightly more simplistic style so that the infographic is not too busy to read but still pleasing to the eye. I used arrows to help direct readers through the infographic’s information. The coloured text clusters help organize the information while keeping a fun and flowing outline.
The different animal images in the background are representative of some of the different animals at cafes. Since the research topic of the infographic concerns the stigmatization of mental health and diverse cultural perspectives, I tried to be careful with the language choice. I tried to use “well-being” more than “mental health” although I did need to use “mental health” when referencing the Statistics Canada finding to correctly convey what the percentage represents. To try and lessen the pressure of the words “mental health” I used a statistic of people who did not seek help to convey that the audience is not alone in being afraid of seeking help. Another word selection that I was aware of was not using the word “stigma” or “stigmatization” as people may not necessarily know what it means. I intend to be inclusive of almost any level of educational knowledge, so instead, I used language such as “negative attitudes”.
When representing the research findings through the infographic I tried to pull at some of the key patterns within the research. Such as referencing both biological and physical benefits of interacting with animals and that sessions with animals do not need to necessarily be long. I did hope to add that most of the animal cafes have people either pay for an hour session or will allow people to pay after the session for however long they stayed but it did not fit. I also made the decision not to explicitly state that the variety of animal cafes helps to acknowledge the problem of allergies or phobias. People may not be able to go to a cat café because of the fur but can go to a hedgehog café instead. I chose instead to just list various kinds of animal cafes and where some of them are in the world to present the diversity of the animal cafes and let the audience reach their own conclusion. I referred to the consumerism theme of the cafes which usually offer food, drinks, and merchandise, responded with reasons why animal cafes would be better than just owning an animal, and referenced how it can be a tiring process to certify an animal and the complications that can occur such as increased stress to help justify why animal cafes could be a better alternative option. Finally, for the “extra sources” coloured text cluster Statistics Canada is listed for the percentage referenced earlier and I attached a source for a website that discusses the variety of animal cafes, where they are, and what kind of animals they have. I also listed a Forbes article discussing the popularity of animal cafes and what might be expected when entering the cafe.
The infographic is the first step into my research which I believe is especially important and needs to be further studied. Struggles to find help for mental health are already difficult and then adding stigma on top of that can scare people out of seeking proper help. This study presents a gap that needs to be closed. Animal cafes have immense potential to be an alternative form of therapy without needing to label it as therapy. People who worry about the stigma around mental health can then approach animal cafes with an open mind. Animals have so much to offer to help people and as an avid animal lover, the benefits of human-animal interaction need much more research. I hope this infographic will act as a conversation starter and help people find an outlet for stress that they did not know existed or were just unaware of the benefits.
About the Author
My name is Chantelle Fourie, and I am entering my third year at UBC Okanagan as a Bachelor of Arts student planning to major in Psychology. I have learned about the ongoing struggle of being culturally aware, accommodating with treatments, and how people approach mental health, throughout my psychology course so far. While some communities are opening meaningful conversations about mental health, many individuals and even communities struggle with the continuing stigma around mental awareness and mental health. My whole life I have loved animals and been interested in how animals can help people through challenging times. The BARK program at UBCO was one of the first things that drew me to the school. I took the great opportunity in a communications class to create a research project that brought together a gap in the field of psychology and my love for animals. There are so many diverse cultures and they each approach mental health differently and as collective new creative outlets need to be used to improve mental health that is approachable to everyone. I was never someone who was willing to open up about any feelings or struggles. Therefore, I understand how difficult it can be to talk to someone and think they will be judgmental. Animals have always been my outlet as they provide unconditional love. I think it is incredibly important for a person to find what they are comfortable with to better their mental health in a potentially fun and relaxing environment. Hopefully, that will help people seek out more assistance if they need it.