Canine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Lisa Mink McGowan, LMFT, RPT-S, CAAPT
Lisa is the owner of Therapooch Family Counseling Center in Camarillo California. She started working with children 25 years ago as a preschool teacher and often incorporated animals into her classroom. Lisa has nearly 20 years experience providing animal assisted therapy in a variety of therapeutic settings. She wrote an award winning children's book "Koko the Service Dog". In 2012, her playroom earned runner-up honors as the nation's Top Playroom by the Association of Play Therapy (APT). Lisa is a registered play therapist supervisor(RPT-S) and certified in animal assisted play therapist, AAPT (tm). Lisa works with her two chocolate labs, Mocha who is 9 and Kona who is 3. Both are AAPT-Approved therapy dogs.
Course Outline:
In my presentation I will be discussing the use of therapy dogs in psychotherapy. The extensive training needed to provide canine-assisted psychotherapy will be discussed. I will review many considerations on how to ethically incorporate dogs into clinical practice. I will explain the importance of the therapist-dog relationship and how this effects the therapeutic process. A variety of safety and ethical concerns will be reviewed. I will discuss several interventions used in canine-assisted psychotherapy. Finally, I will review two specific cases and the role of the therapy dog in the clinical treatment goals for each case.
Learning Objectives:
1) Participants will be able to explain at least one reason why extensive knowledge of positive dog training techniques are needed when working with a therapy dog.
2) Participants will learn at least two examples of why the therapist-dog relationship is so important.
3) Participants will be able to identify at least three possible safety concerns in regards to canine-assisted psychotherapy.
4) Participants will learn four interventions used in canine-assisted psychotherapy.
References:
Fine, A. H. (Ed). (2006) Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (2nd ed.). San Diego: Academic Press.
Vanfleet, R. (2008). Playful pooches: Using canine interactions to enhance therapeutic outcomes for children and adolescents. In C.F. Sori & L. Hecker (Eds.), The therapists notebook lll. New York: Haworth Press.
Vanfleet, R. & Faa-Thompson T. (2017). Animal Assisted Play Therapy. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.
Meetings Are Now FREE For Members Who Pre-Register!
Participants Will Receive 2 CEU's Via Email
For questions regarding CEU's contact Diane Bagatourian,
Co-VP Programs: Diane@clearrecoverycenter.com
Long Beach - South Bay CAMFT - APPROVAL NUMBER: 56159
LBSB CAMFT is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFT’s, LCSW’s, LEP’s & LPCC’s. LBSB CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
Course meets the qualifications for two (2) hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and/or LEPs, as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
Refund Policy: With a 24-hour written notice, a full refund will be provided. With less than 24 hours' notice, credit towards attendance at a future education program course will be provided. Target Audience: This educational program is planned for marriage and family therapists, marriage and family therapy associates, social workers, counselors and/or educations psychologist. Special Needs Accommodations: In the event that special needs accommodations are required, please contact Diane Bagatorian, Co-VP Programs diane@clearrecovercenter.com indicating your need at least 8 days prior to the educational program. Awarding Course Completion Certifications: LB-SB CAMFT monitors attendance with sign-in and sign-out sheets and final course evaluations. Once the participate have signed out and provided course evaluations, course completion certificates will be emailed to your with 14 days. . Grievances: The Program Administrator (PA) and Board of Directors (BOD) will handle complaints or grievances and conduct investigations to determine the appropriate resolutions. The BOD and PA will respond within 48 hours of receiving the complaint and will provide timely fall-up to the participant during the course of investigation and resolution. in a timely fall-up to the participant during the course of investigation and resolution.
