Canine Assisted Therapy

Victoria Wood, OTR/L

Online Course

Includes all course content in digital format

Prerequisites Required

Item: physi-VIDEOCANIVW12CREDIT

Description

As more people become interested in how animals can therapeutically benefit humans, there has been a call for training animals to be Certified Therapy dogs. Because this is an important role, it is imperative that people and their animals become properly trained and certified. This increases the effectiveness, consistency, and legitimacy of using certified therapy dogs. This course will teach you the many benefits of using a trained animal during therapy sessions. It will give you resources and information on what is needed to obtain certification for a therapy dog. You will meet Polly and see her in action with several patients.

Highlights

  • Requirements to train and certify your canine
  • How to properly train and certify your therapy dog to increase the effectiveness, consistency, and legitimacy of the program
  • Benefits of using canine assisted therapy in physical, occupational and speech therapy

Learning Objectives

  1. Distinguish the role of the therapy dog in treatment sessions.
  2. Analyze the benefits of using a certified therapy dog.
  3. Examine the procedure for securing training and certification for Canine Assisted Therapy.

Course Content

Canine Assisted Therapy
SCORM Package
Next Steps
Module
  1. Introduction to Canine Assisted Therapy
    • Meet Polly
    • Personal experience using Polly as a therapy dog
    • What is a therapy dog and what are the rules/laws governing them
  2. How to Become a Certified Therapy Dog Handler
    • Determine if your dog is suitable
    • Criteria for a successful therapy dog
    • Training your dog
    • Testing and certification
  3. The Benefits of Using a Therapy Dog
    • Benefits to the therapist
    • Benefits to the patient
    • Questions
Victoria Wood, OTR/L is an Occupational Therapist who has been practicing in pediatric settings including home health, daycare, schools, outpatient clinics, and inpatient rehab for over 20 years. She is the director of an outpatient clinic, a Summit faculty lecturer who has taught multiple sensory courses, a blogger, as well as a newly published author. In December 2019 her first book was published. It is an instructional guide to teach others to See Your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes. This is a much-needed resource for anyone working with persons with sensory processing disorder. At the same time her book was published, she developed a website to share knowledge and expertise on sensory processing disorder to others. You can find Victoria at www.thesensoryqueen.com In addition to traditional pediatric treatment, Victoria has trained and uses a certified Animal Assistant or therapy dog. Polly visits nursing homes, hospitals, and pediatric clinics to assist with therapy and improve treatment objectives. For more information, view Victoria's Summit webinar on Animal Assisted Therapy. Victoria is certified in therapeutic listening, SOS trained, Beckman Oral Motor trained, and has taken over 40 continuing education courses. She has supervised more than 15 graduate level students and over 25 undergraduate students. Due to the current pandemic, companies have had to transition more to tele-therapy and virtual education. Victoria has been providing tele-therapy to clients, as well as educating other therapists with webinars and podcasts virtually.

DISCLOSURES

FINANCIAL: Victoria Wood is compensated by Summit as an instructor. She is employed by Berkeley County School District as a school-based occupational therapist. She is the author of the book "See Your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes" from which she receives royalties.Victoria is compensated by The OT Toolbox for website development.

NONFINANCIAL: Victoria Wood has no non-financial relationships to disclose.

Summit receives financial support for this course from Physitrack

Click here to check accreditation for this course.

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