I had an intern who was new to working with animals. We had talked about how animals are like sponges and soak up and react to our energy. I talked about how we try to keep a calm, quiet environment for the patients because we do rehab and pain management. A stressed animal can be a danger to itself, us or the owner so it’s important to keep our emotions in check. One day my intern rushed out of the room without a word. When she returned she apologized profusely saying she had a panic attack and remembered what I said about energy. She still seemed agitated, so I turned on the CHI Palm to ‘balance’, placed it in her hands and folded her hands to her chest over her heart. I told her to keep it there until she felt better. A bit later she returned it commenting about how much and how quickly it helped. I showed her where it lives on my treatment cart and how to set it. Then I told her to use it whenever she felt a panic attack come on. Throughout her 3 month internship I would notice her quietly reaching for the palm and hugging it for a few minutes and then eventually she’d return it to the cart. Only at the end of her internship did she share that she had terrible social anxiety and sitting in a room talking to a stranger for an hour at a time was terrifying for her. She thanked us for helping her learn how to manage in that situation (and others). I didn’t think much about it at the time because I understood the value of the palMichelle L. Rupp, VMD, CCRT, CVMMP