CIDBT 5107 Advanced Pet Bereavement Counselling Skills

The course is preceded by CIDBT 4111, Introduction to Pet Bereavement Counselling Skills. The introductory course covers the following areas of bereavement counselling:

• Defining the counsellor/helper role
• Ethical considerations in counselling
• Religious and spiritual issues and considerations in counselling
• The guidelines to developing consent forms, keeping records and providing written reports
• Theoretical approaches to counselling
• Self-assessment and role playing
• Attachment Theory
• The three stages of counselling

This course is designed for qualified professionals who intend to support owners and carers of pets who have experienced a pet or animal bereavement within contexts including veterinary, instructional and voluntary or welfare and counselling practice.

Upon successful completion of this course participants will be able to:

• Understand how life stages may influence the presenting issues within bereavement and loss
• Assist pet owners/carers in achieving a positive resolution when encountering difficulty with decisions relating to animal euthanasia
• Support pet owners/carers in circumstances where accidental or traumatic circumstances lead to a more complex grief and bereavement process
• Assist pet owners/carers in securing a positive resolution in decision making leading to creation, burial, etc. of pets
• Communicate effective responses during helping interactions with pet owners/carers to include suggestions, activities and otherwise to securing resolution and grief
• Demonstrate reflection upon variations within both professional and voluntary roles and identify how this may influence the potential to assist pet owners/carers in their grief and bereavement