This course provides an overview of Animal Assisted Play Therapy® (AAPT), a therapeutic approach that fully integrates play therapy and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), with significant contributions from several other fields. It is most often used to treat a wide range of child, adolescent, and family psychosocial problems, and it is also appropriate for groups and adults of all ages. The course provides the definition of AAPT, guiding principles and values, goal areas, required therapist competencies, animal selection and preparation, descriptions of the type of relationship between therapist and animal and how to achieve that, the types of settings used, the wide range of methods and interventions available, the welfare of animals, an overview of applications and ethics, and numerous case examples of this promising approach in action. The focus is on dogs and horses, but the principles and methods can be used with other species as well. The approach has been used by mental health, allied health, and education professionals.

This course is intended as a thorough introduction, but not as an in-depth training program. People completing the course will have a solid understanding of the possibilities and procedures for AAPT, but should not begin the practice of AAPT based upon this single course.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. This course does serve as one of the prerequisites for the 4-day live skills-building course, Animal Assisted Play Therapy®, Level 1.

CE Credits Available: 14

Required Text (sold separately): VanFleet, R., & Faa-Thompson, T. (2017). Animal Assisted Play Therapy. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

Instructor: Risë VanFleet, PhD, RPT-S, CDBC, Licensed Psychologist (PA)

Learning Objectives: Participants in this course will be able to…

1. define Animal Assisted Play Therapy and describe how it differs from other Animal Assisted Therapy modalities.
2. define play therapy and how it differs from other child or family therapy interventions.
3. describe what is meant by each of the Guiding Principles of AAPT and why each one is important.
4. explain why the animal’s welfare is equally important to that of the client.
5. identify five primary goal areas for AAPT work.
6. list the competencies needed by therapists to do this work competently and ethically.
7. describe the key components for preparing a dog to be involved in play therapy work.
8. describe the major forms of play therapy within which AAPT can be applied.
9. explain at least 5 different AAPT interventions.
10. explain the importance of working with horses in familiar, natural environments.
11. describe the 3 criteria that must be met for dressing up an animal in an ethical and humane manner.
12. list the sequence with which one debriefs a group after an AAPT activity.
13. list the qualities that go into a healthy therapist-animal relationship
14. describe what the 3-second rule is and how to conduct it.
15. describe why perfect behavior is not a requirement of AAPT therapy animals.
16. describe at least 2 ways in which playfulness or lightness can be incorporated into the AAPT process.

This self-paced course has been created to provide the practitioner of Animal Assisted Play Therapy® or other Animal Assisted Interventions with a solid background in canine behavior and training. It is likely to be useful to others who wish to learn more about canine socialization, behavior, and training, and how these relate to our relationships with dogs as well as to the work we ask them to do.

Included lessons are as follows: (1) the therapeutic partnership; (2) the nature of dogs; debunking the myths; (3) socialization; (4) overview of dog training; (5) learning principles (theory); (6) positive training concepts; (7) dog training applications; (8) more training applications and resources; (9) the dog’s welfare. The course consists of a PowerPoint presentation, links to supporting documents, video presentations and examples, and detailed examples of how to train a number of key behaviors. Successful completion of this course is a prerequisite for the live 4-day Animal Assisted Play Therapy® Level 2 workshop offered regularly in the US, UK, and elsewhere.

CE Credits Available: 10

Required Text (sold separately): Dennison, P. (2015). You CAN Train Your Dog: Mastering the Art & Science of Modern Dog Training. Blairstown, NJ: Shadow Publishing.

Instructor: Risë VanFleet, PhD, RPT-S, CDBC, Licensed Psychologist (PA)

Learning Objectives: Participants in this course will be able to…

1. Explain why the therapist-canine relationship is so important to Animal Assisted Play Therapy®.
2. Identify key features of a therapy partnership with a dog.
3. Define the basic principles of classical conditioning.
4. Explain the four quadrants of operant conditioning.
5. Describe what is meant by socialization and why it is so important for play therapy dogs.
6. Define the following terms: luring, free shaping, capturing, marker training, play training, DRI.
7. Give at least 3 reasons why it is critical to use nonaversive methods in training dogs for therapy work.
8. Distinguish collars and harnesses that are appropriate and inappropriate for managing dogs’ behavior.
9. Apply training principles and ideas to teach their dogs at least 3 useful behaviors for AAPT work.
10. Monitor their dogs for stress during therapy sessions and respond appropriately when they see it.

Animal Assisted Play Therapy® is a complex form of therapeutic intervention that requires knowledge and skill competencies from several different fields. Whenever live animals are involved in therapy, there are a number of special ethical and welfare considerations that differ from those in other forms of therapy. It is not nearly enough for therapists to take their “nice animals” to work with them, nor is it sufficient to take one online course and begin practicing. There are scope of practice issues that are important for any therapist considering the involvement of an animal to consider. Nonhuman animals are sentient beings whose needs must be attended to carefully. The welfare of animals involved also relates directly to the quality of experience for clients, therapeutically as well as in terms of risk management.

This online course highlights the key factors that one must learn and bear in mind when involving animals in their professional AAT and AAPT work. It includes sections on professional ethics, principles of practice, therapist competencies, boundaries of practice, relationships, natural environments, animal welfare (including discussion of the Five Freedoms, animal consent, equipment, and animal choices), therapist awareness, and risk management processes. The course offers a variety of exercises and tools for therapists to assess their own progress and areas for future development. It also pulls together elements of other courses within an ethics and welfare context.

CE Credits Available: 6

Prerequisites: This course will be more meaningful if you have already taken the Introduction to Animal Assisted Play Therapy® online course (and the text for this course is the same as for that one). Although the reading for this course uses only sections from the required text, it is advisable that you first read the entire book (which you do in the Intro to AAPT course). This course is required for those interested in becoming AAPT supervisors and instructors, as well as for certified therapists as a continuing professional development course.

Required Text (sold separately): VanFleet, R., & Faa-Thompson, T. (2017). Animal Assisted Play Therapy. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

Instructor: Risë VanFleet, PhD, RPT-S, CDBC, Licensed Psychologist (PA)

Learning Objectives: Participants in this course will be able to…

1. Describe at least 2 reasons why scope of practice issues matter in AAT/AAPT.
2. Identify and define the 8 key competencies therapists must develop.
3. Describe at least 2 reasons why it is important that therapists develop fluency in reading the body language of each species with whom they work.
4. Give 2 examples of how therapists can offer choice to their animal partners.
5. Define what is meant by “goodness of fit” when applied to the practice of AAT/AAPT.
6. Give an example of each of the “five freedoms” as applied to AAT/AAPT.
7. Identify how you would handle it if a child client grabbed the tail of a dog, cat, or horse.
8. Describe 2 factors that might cause an otherwise nice dog to snarl or bite.
9. Identify how you would handle clients picking up cats and small dogs.
10. Practice with lower risk and higher quality in the fields of AAT/AAPT.
11. Understand the need to learn a great deal about animals.
12. Describe at least 4 features of an excellent therapist-animal relationship.
13. Describe what is meant by & why it is important to work within the animal’s natural environment.
14. Describe the 3 criteria that should be applied to decisions about dressing up animals.