Delta Society is the leading provider of credentialing and continuing education related to animal-assisted activities and therapy and service animal/service dog issues. Delta Society Continuing Education Courses are fast-paced, experiential programs that will help you increase your skills and knowledge about service animals/service dogs, volunteering in visiting pet programs and therapy programs and animals. Courses are designed to meet the needs of volunteers, healthcare professionals and others. We now offer courses that can be scheduled at your site and at your convenience.
We offer the following courses:
Pet Partners Team Training Course
Learn skills needed to visit safely with your animal in hospitals, nursing homes, classrooms, and other facilities.
The Pet Partners Team Training Course is frequently, but not always, presented as part of a fast-paced weekend event that fulfills training and evaluation requirements for registration as a Pet Partner. The weekend starts with a day-long (8 hours), hands-on course, followed by the Team Evaluation the next day. Students receive a copy of the popular Pet Partners Team Training Course Manual and practice visiting skills. Courses may be provided by Delta Society or by licensed instructors throughout the nation. Successful completion of this course, in instructor-led or home-study format, is required for registration as a Pet Partner. Additional information about Pet Partners is available on this web site.
Topics include:
- Selecting and preparing animals for visits.
- Identifying and decreasing stress in animals.
- Animal health and safety.
- Special needs of client groups.
- Interacting with special people.
- Facility health and safety codes.
- Patient confidentiality.
Pet Partners Team Evaluator Course
Pet Partners Team Evaluators are licensed
by Delta Society to provide Pet Partners team evaluations
for people/animal teams wishing to become Pet Partners.
There are 2 parts to the course. First, the student
must complete a home study course that includes the
Pet Partners Team Evaluator Home Study Course Materials
(Pet Partners Team Evaluator Home Study Student Guide,
Pet Partners Team Evaluator Written Test, Team Evaluator
Home Study Video, and Team Evaluator Policies and
Procedures Manual). Once the Written Test is passed,
the students attend the Pet Partners Team Evaluation
Course Practicum. In this highly interactive course,
students learn how to provide consistent, standards-based
evaluations of people-animal teams for the Pet Partners
Program. During the Practicum, students receive 8 hours
of hands-on practical experience, including practice
evaluations of handler/animal teams. Prerequisites:
see Become a Team Evaluator. The course covers
the following:
- Animal Behavior.
- Handler Behavior.
- Pet Partners Skills Test.
- Pet Partners Aptitude Test.
- Scoring.
- Informing the Handler.
- Test Management and Logistics.
- Team Evaluator Policies and Procedures.
- Evaluation Site.
- Evaluation Room Set Up.
- Practice Team Evaluations and Informing the Handler.
Pet Partners Instructor Course
Pet Partners Instructors are licensed by Delta Society to teach the Pet Partners Team Training Course. The 4-hour course is highly interactive, providing opportunities to practice teaching techniques. Students receive an Instructor Guide, a copy of the Pet Partners Team Training Course Manual, and a training video. Students must teach a course within 6 months to complete licensure. CEUs are available. Prerequisite: Registration as a Pet Partner.
AAT Applications I: Animal-Assisted Therapy for Healthcare Professionals
Want to motivate patients to work harder? Learn about Animal-Assisted Therapy techniques!
AAT Applications I is a highly interactive course, engaging students immediately in hands-on exercises. Learn to work with animal-handler teams to provide AAT to your clients. Practice AAT techniques. You will receive a student guide for later reference.
Who should attend this course?
- Physical Therapists.
- Occupational Therapists
- Speech/Language Pathologists.
- Social Workers.
- Child Life Specialists.
- Recreation Therapists.
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Identify the difference between a service animal (as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act) and a therapy animal (as defined by Standards of Practice in Animal-assisted Activities and Therapy).
- Identify 3 assessment criteria for client participation in AAT.
- Analyze 4 environmental dynamics that impact selection of appropriate animal-handler teams.
- Identify 4 behavioral indicators of animal stress.
- Identify 2 ways an animal may be incorporated into client treatment to achieve goals in each of the 4 functional domains.
- Identify 3 documentation formats applicable to AAT.
- Locate 3 reference works for standards-based AAT practice.
Prerequisite: must be a human healthcare professional.
The Student
Guide for this course is available to purchase online
to AAT instructors only . If you are ordering
these restricted items for the first time, you must
contact Fulfillment Center at Orders@deltasociety.org
to set up your authorization code.
For more information, contact Dianne Bell at (425) 917-1114.
Do you want to share the description of this course with others? Download the course flyer in Adobe Acrobat PDF format (31K, PDF).
Download the Adobe Acrobat Reader if you don't have the latest version. An accessible version of the download page is available.
Visiting Scholar Program
The Visiting Scholars Program is a custom-tailored series of courses that provide on-site observation of programs in action and comprehensive training for individuals or groups of people who want to learn more about service animals/service dogs, animal-assisted activities/therapy and human-animal interactions. A personalized two- to five-day agenda is developed to meet each individual or group's needs. Contact Delta Society's National Headquarters at (425) 226-7357 or info@deltasociety.org for more information on this unique program.
