Meet Liberty — Inside Out's Great Dane Service Dog in Training
She noticed before anyone said a word.
She came in as a rescue. The shelter had already named her Liberty, and Christina kept it. It was not just a name. It was the right name. The practice is called Inside Out because healing happens from the inside — the wounds that cannot be seen, the patterns that formed before there were words for them, the nervous system that learned to brace and never got the signal to rest. The work here is about freedom from those things. Liberty felt like the right word for that.
She is a Great Dane. Black, with a small patch of white on her chest. She carries herself with the calm that seems to come naturally to dogs of her size and disposition. And when she is in the room, she is not just present. She is paying attention.
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Great Dane
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Service Dog In Training
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Present with Christina Behrens, LPC
* Great Dane * Service Dog In Training * Present with Christina Behrens, LPC
What Liberty actually does
Liberty is a service dog in training, not an emotional support animal. She has been trained to detect physiological changes in the people around her and respond with specific grounding behaviors.
In sessions, she responds through:
Nudging for pets when she senses a shift
Placing her paw on you
Resting her head or legs on your feet
Leaning in with full body weight for pressure and grounding
She does not wait to be invited. She notices something shift in the room and she responds. For a lot of clients, that moment (being noticed before you have said a single thing) is when the session actually begins.
"She crossed the room before I had said a single word. I did not know I needed that until it happened."
Her story
Liberty was rescued at one year old from Big Hearts for Big Breeds, a local rescue, after being surrendered through no fault of her own, her previous owner's life situation had changed. After fostering Liberty, Christina knew she would make an extraordinary service dog for clients in the office. Her gentle nature and high awareness of people's emotional states made it an easy decision to adopt her.
Big Hearts for Big Breeds has remained in contact with Liberty's former owner, who saw a video of her training and shared that Liberty had previously been in service dog training with them. Being a service dog is not something Liberty fell into. It is what she was always meant to do.
— Christina Behrens, LPC
What to expect when Liberty is in the office
Liberty stays in Christina's office unless invited out. She loves to explore and will often sniff when she first meets someone — she does not lick. Her presence in a session is always by the client's choice. If you would like her there, mention it when you reach out or at the start of your appointment. If you would prefer she stay in the office, that is completely fine too.
Liberty is present during Christina's sessions whenever Christina is in the office. She is not part of sessions with other clinicians at Inside Out.
Her training
Liberty is trained by AZ Dynamic Dogs, who continues to support her skill building as her training advances. Liberty and Christina also attend weekly group training sessions alongside other service dogs in training, a structure that builds both consistency and the capacity to work effectively in varied environments with varied people.
Liberty and Christina are scheduled to complete their certification program this year. When that happens, she will move from service dog in training to fully certified, a milestone that reflects years of work, but also something that has been visible in her sessions long before the paperwork is finalized.
A note on allergies and sensitivities
No one is required to engage with Liberty — her presence and any interaction with her is entirely at the client's comfort level.
For clients with sensitivities, the office has air purifiers and is cleaned regularly. Liberty is bathed every two weeks to reduce shedding and dander, in alignment with service dog care requirements. If you have a dog allergy or significant concern, please mention it before your session and we will make sure she is not present.
Would you like Liberty in your session?
Book a session with Christina and Liberty at Inside Out.
Just mention it when you reach out or at the start of your appointment. In-person sessions in Peoria, AZ.
Common Questions About Working With Liberty
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Both, and the distinction matters. The comfort is real, but what Liberty does goes beyond ambient warmth. She is trained to detect physiological changes and respond with specific grounding behaviors before the client has had to articulate anything. That is clinically different from simply having a dog in the room. Research on animal-assisted interventions consistently shows measurable reductions in cortisol and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system through human-animal contact, effects that create real conditions for therapeutic work.
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These terms are often used interchangeably but they are not the same. An emotional support animal provides general comfort through companionship and requires no specific task training. A therapy dog visits hospitals, schools, or other settings informally. A service dog is trained to perform specific tasks in response to a handler's or client's needs. Liberty is a service dog in training, trained by AZ Dynamic Dogs to detect physiological distress and respond with targeted grounding behaviors. That places her in a different category from ESAs and informal therapy animals.
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It can, even for people who do not consider themselves dog people. Liberty's responses are not dependent on the client seeking her out. She moves toward distress signals she detects regardless of whether the client invited her. Some of the most notable moments in session have been with clients who did not expect her presence to matter. That said, her presence is always optional, clients who prefer she stay in Christina's office are welcome to say so.
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Yes. Liberty's calm temperament and trained responses make her well-suited for sessions with children, who often find her presence lowers the anxiety of being in a new space with a new person. She does not jump, does not demand attention, and follows the child's lead in terms of engagement. If a child is nervous around large dogs, that is worth mentioning before the session so we can make sure the environment feels safe.
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Liberty's presence in a session is integrated into the standard therapeutic work with Christina Behrens, LPC rather than billed as a separate modality. Sessions with Christina are covered under the same insurance billing as standard therapy, currently Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield. There is no additional cost or separate billing for having Liberty present.
Also explore:
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Animal-assisted therapy
Liberty's work in sessions is grounded in a clinical approach with real research behind it. If you want to understand what animal-assisted therapy actually is, how it differs from having a pet in the room, and what the evidence shows — this is where to go next.
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Meet Christina
Liberty is present because Christina chose her, trained alongside her, and brought her into the clinical work intentionally. The two of them are a team. If Liberty's approach resonates, Christina's approach is worth understanding.
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Meet the team
Liberty is only part of what makes Inside Out different. The clinicians she works alongside hold the same standard of care — EMDR-trained, trauma-informed, and built for the kind of work that actually shifts something. If you are ready to find the right fit, the team page is where to start.