Animal Assisted Therapy for Healthcare Professionals

Out of stock

SKU
SC-56
Advance your therapeutic practice through Animal Assisted Therapy.

This course will enable healthcare professionals to upskill in a growing area, providing additional therapeutic services to benefit their clients.

$2,200.00

Key facts

Course category
Psychology, Counselling and Social Work, Therapies
Options

Please submit an enquiry to express an interest or to request further information.

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Duration
10 weeks
Group Bookings
Enquire now
Prerequisite/s
There are no prerequisites for this short course
Certification
Certificate of Attendance

Why this course?

This course is designed for qualified and soon-to-qualify healthcare professionals who are interested in incorporating animals into their practice. It covers the theoretical basis for working with animals in therapeutic settings, existing organisational requirements to set up an animal-assisted therapy program, and ways in which horses, dogs, and other animals may help practitioners provide therapeutic benefit for clients, while maintaining animal welfare and human health and safety. Supporting specific populations through animal-assisted therapy will also be covered. 

 

You will learn from experts about how to appropriately introduce animals into your own practice. 

Why study a short course at La Trobe

Industry experience while you study

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Rising demand

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Powerful Collaborations

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Course content

  • The theoretical basis for working with animals in therapeutic settings
  • The existing organisational requirements for successfully integrating animals into healthcare practice
  • Ways in which horses, dogs, and other animals can help practitioners provide therapeutic benefit for clients
  • Supporting specific populations (i.e., mobility impairments, mental health conditions, developmental disorders)
  • Maintaining animal welfare and human health and safety.

You’ll learn:

  • How to safely integrate working with animals into your practice

  • The benefits that animal-assisted therapy can provide for your clients
  • How animal-assisted therapy can benefit specific populations

Your study experience

The course comprises 15 hours of online seminars over 10 weeks, and an additional 10 hours of self-study, with a total of 25 hours of Continuing Professional Development. 

Online seminars will be held from 6:00 to 7:30 pm (AEST/AEDT). 

This course is subject to minimum enrolment numbers.  A refund will be provided if the course is cancelled.

Who you'll learn from

Tiffani Howell

Tiffani is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Psychology and Public Health. She has extensive experience in research on animal welfare, dog-owner relationships, and assistance dogs, including surveys, focus groups, and behavioural studies. She recently co-led a trial, funded by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, to understand the effectiveness of assistance dogs as an adjunct to treatment for veterans with PTSD.

Vanessa Rohlf 

Vanessa is a Research Officer in the School of Psychology and Public Health, and is a consultant, therapist, and educator specialising in compassion fatigue, stress management, pet loss, and animal bereavement.

Pauleen Bennett 

Pauleen is Head of Department of Psychology and Counselling at La Trobe University. She is Australia’s leading expert in Anthrozoology, past-President and Fellow of the International Society for Anthrozoology, and Associate Editor of the field’s leading journal, Anthrozöos. Since 2011, she has led a multidisciplinary research group focusing on human-companion dog relationships, and particularly on how these impact human health and dog welfare.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Find out more about further education at La Trobe  View all FAQ

I would like information about a short course. Who can assist me?  

Email: LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au 

Phone: 1300 135 045

I have paid the fee for a short course. When will I be able to access it?  

On completion of your registration, you'll be provided with an account on our Learning Management System (LMS) and the course material will be made available at the advertised date, or as outlined on your registration confirmation email.  For our on-demand courses, access will be immediate.

What payment options are there?

  • You may arrange to pay by BPAY or EFT
  • For group bookings, we encourage purchase orders.  Contact us for a quote, and upon receipt of your purchase order we can make the course available to you.
  • Unfortunately, we are not able to arrange instalment payments.

Contact us on LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au for assistance. 

Can I arrange payment with a Purchase Order?

Yes, we accept Purchase Orders. Please email to LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au and our La Trobe Professional team will provide you with payment details and access to your course. 

I am getting an error when I try to log into my LMS account. Can you help? 

  • The first thing to check is your order confirmation email - it will contain your Learning Management System (LMS) account and password.  Note that this account may not be the same as your staff, student or previous short course participant account. 
  • The second thing to check is that you're logging on as a short course participant and not as a student - choose 'Other Users' - select Short Course as your institution and use your account and password as provided.

If you need any assistance, contact us on LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au. 

I want to enrol multiple staff in a short course. How do I go about this? 

Contact LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au so that we can discuss options with you.  

What certification will I receive?

The type of certification depends on the assessment involved in the course. For example:

  • Microcredentials:  You will receive a digital credential that confirms the skills you’ve acquired, any assessments you’ve completed and potential pathways for credit or advanced standing towards a degree. 
  • Other assessed short courses:  This may include bridging programs or courses that prepare you for external certification from a professional body.  You might receive a certificate of achievement or a digital badge (a digital version of a certificate of achievement).
  • Non-assessed courses:  If a course doesn’t involve formal assessment, you’ll receive a certificate of attendance.
  • Single-subject enrolment: If you enrol in a single subject, you will receive an official transcript for that subject.

Please note that short courses or microcredentials are not formal qualifications under the Australian Qualifications Framework but may be eligible for consideration as advanced standing (credit) towards a degree.

What is a microcredential? 

Microcredentials are short courses that are assessed, carry academic credit, and to deliver specific skills or knowledge.  While they can be taken as standalone courses, many are designed to be combined or ‘stacked’ with other microcredentials to form the equivalent of a subject within a degree program.  Upon successful completion, you’ll earn a digital credential that outlines the skills and credit obtained, and any opportunities for stacking.

For La Trobe microcredentials, any advanced standing or stacking pathways are clearly expressed on the course page.   

What is advanced standing?

Advanced standing refers to credit for prior study or formal learning that can be credited towards a qualification, thereby reducing the number of subjects required to complete a course. For short courses or microcredentials (if these have been completed through recognised institutions or platforms and are deemed equivalent to La Trobe University subjects), credit may be granted either for specific La Trobe subjects or as unspecified credit towards elective requirements of a La Trobe course.

For La Trobe microcredentials, any advanced standing or stacking pathways are clearly expressed on the course page.   Upon successful completion of the course, you’ll receive a digital credential, which may be used when applying for credit for the relevant degree at La Trobe.

For more details, visit the University’s advanced standing web page.