Geckos and snakes help calm mental health patients

Reptiles are being used to help patients improve their wellbeing at a mental health trust.

Geckos, bearded dragons, tortoises and snakes are all part of a reptile‑assisted therapy programme running on wards at the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust in Maidstone.

In partnership with the National Centre for Reptile Welfare, the sessions have already supported 70 patients.

Trust staff member Vikki Buxton-Helyer, who leads the sessions and volunteers at the reptile centre, said patients reported that "they find the animals really calming".

The trust believes interacting with the animals has helped to soothe anxiety, provide a valuable distraction from intrusive thoughts, and lift moods.

Buxton-Helyer told BBC Radio Kent patients can get a "confidence boost from trying something new" or "genuinely get therapeutic input from the animals".

"People are scared of snakes, and actually they're beautiful creatures that do have feelings and deserve as much love and care as we give our mammals," she said.

The trust said reptiles move slowly and deliberately, which many find grounding; holding a reptile offers a sensory "reset" that helps patients stay present.

Graham Blackman, acute deputy service director for the trust, said: "I've seen patients who are usually anxious or withdrawn become engaged and relaxed during the sessions.

"The team is now launching a research project to explore how reptile therapy specifically supports patients navigating trauma and self-harm."

Buxton-Helyer said the project was "a little bit brave" of the NHS and it was "looking at expanding" the scheme to its other hospitals.

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