Animal Assisted Counseling and Psychotherapy is a very new field. While publications may espouse the benefits of therapies involving the Human-Animal bond, for our field to flourish and gain credibility, we need to be able to demonstrate its effectiveness.
In this course we will explore our own roles in contributing to the field of AAP with sound and effective clinical practice. Each student will either choose (or develop) an appropriate efficacy measurement tool that they can utilize in working with their specific population, and their specific animal(s) (or intended population and animals).
Accurate, detailed documentation may be one of the clinicians’ greatest tools for tracking progress with clients. Students will practice using documentation in this manner, and in concert with their efficacy tools.
Lastly, each student will provide a single-subject designed study that documents and explores a specific client’s progress using your AAP tools.
IMPORTANT: Please do these assignments one at a time and only proceed to the next assignment after you have received feedback.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Students will choose an appropriate outcome measurement tool to use with their specific client population.
2. Students will be able to use accurate and detailed documentation which supports the demonstration of progress with individual clients.
3. Students will be able to write a professional level single-subject research paper documenting the progress of a specific client.
