Have just finished a great course with the Society for Companion Animal Studies , on Companion Animal Intervenions in Therapeutic Practice. It was an extremely thorough and comprehensive course on this fascinating and wide subject, and I was very impressed with the quality of teaching (there was a whole team of professionals from different areas presenting, as well as the society's director - vet, therapist, counsellor, animal behaviourist, etc), and the two manuals are very high quality in content, and each of them large enough to serve as a door-stopper! I can highly recommend it even though it was primarily a theoretical / academic course and the eight days were quite long and crammed with information, it was hard to take everything in.
As part of the training, I visited [url]Elisabeth Svendsen Trust [/url] in Manchester (there are quite a few around the country) that works in partnership with the Donkey Sanctuary and provides riding and other activities for children with learning difficulties and other disabilities - as a therapeutic intervention as well as for fun and enjoyment - again, that was really enlightening.
Masha
What are your plans in this regard? How will you implement the therapy? Years ago I used to do companion animal work, taking my cats and dogs to visit at a nursing home.
Lorna
It is more of a long-term plan/dream, to have an eco-therapy retreat type of centre, with both animals and plants being part of the bigger picture. In the meantime, I considered getting my cat assest as a PAT (Pets as Therapy) cat to visit hospitals etc, but whilst he has a lovely nature and is very affectionate, he is a bit too lively to be a good therapy cat I think.
Masha