HAS Courses in Israel
Oranim College
Kiryat Tivon, Israel
Program Directors: Sarit Lev Ben-Dov and Inbar Barel
Animal Assisted Psychotherapy Certificate Program
The program is meant to train professionals (with at least a B.A.) for Animal-Assisted Psychotherapy in various special needs populations (e.g. those in mental health settings, group homes for at-risk children and youth, hostels, schools, senior homes, etc.). This program is intended for college graduates (preference given to graduates with an academic background in areas related to therapy and/education), and those with a personality appropriate for conducting therapy.
Academic training (totaling 1500 academic hours) includes theory courses and clinical workshops in three central disciplines: 1) Psychology and Psychotherapy; 2) Animal Studies; 3) the Human-Animal Connection and Animal-Assisted Psychotherapy. The program includes practical training, which constitutes a meaningful component in the training program. Each year, the student must participate in a field placement one day a week in one of various clinical settings, and must complete 400 hours, of which at least 270 must be direct therapy hours. The type of field training will be decided together with each student, who will be supervised both in individual and group settings by experienced professionals in the field.
The content in the courses specific to the area of Animal-Assisted Psychotherapy includes the following: the inter-relationship of different stages of human development and the human-animal connection and it's implications for AAP; the issue of touch in therapy in general vs. in AAP; loss and bereavement and how it may be worked through in AAP; the use of AAP in Play Therapy; the advantages of the presence of animals in various stages of therapy - intake and evaluation/creation of therapeutic alliance/conclusion/etc.; animals and their affect on the therapy process - reenactment, resistance, projection, transference, countertransference, emotional expression; understanding the therapy triangle of AAP; principles of empathy for self and others and how it may be affected by AAP; the presence of animals and working through family issues; AAP and various theoretical approaches and constructs - object relations, attachment theory, CBT, etc.; AAP and various populations - at-risk, autism, learning disabilities, prison inmates, in-patient and out-patient psychiatric patients, victims of sexual abuse, etc.; AAP in various settings - therapy room, small zoo, large zoo, combination zoo and therapy room, taking the dog out for a walk' etc.; and so much more.
