Dogs support police officers with PTSD
Thousands of police officers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of traumatic incidents in the course of their work. Dogs (both assistance dogs and companion dogs) can offer relief to police officers with PTSD. That is the finding of doctoral research by neurobiologist Charlotte Witjes-Roelofs, who will defend her thesis at Radboud University on Oct. 1, 2026. "Police…
Thousands of police officers struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to traumatic events they encounter while on duty. According to neuroscience student Charlotte Witjes-Roelofs' research, dogs—both assistance dogs and companion dogs—can help alleviate symptoms of PTSD in police officers. In her thesis, Witjes-Roelofs discovered that police officers with PTSD feel safer and more alert with their dogs present, performing better on memory tests.
Both assistance dogs and family dogs can offer emotional support, although trained assistance dogs provide a more targeted and consistent level of comfort. The study, commissioned by the Police Academy, suggests that assistance dogs can wake officers from nightmares, remove them from tense situations, and mirror behavior. Witjes-Roelofs hopes that other organizations working with first responders, such as the Ministry of Defence and fire departments, will adopt similar practices.
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