Training Programs
Becoming an ITA volunteer therapy animal team has two major components, the team training course and the team evaluation.
The Team Training Course
Some of the important information you will learn in the team training course course:
- How you and your animal companion can register as an ITA volunteer therapy animal team
- The difference between animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and animal-assisted activities (AAA)
- How to approach a facility about AAA/AAT visits
- What is expected of you as a volunteer in an AAA/ AAT program
- How to conduct an AAA/AAT visit and what to bring with you
- How to prepare your animal for an AAA/AAT visit
- How to recognize signs of stress in your animal companion
- Where to get documentation and resource material about AAA and AAT
- How to identify situations where animal visits are not appropriate
- Common concerns of health-care and human services professionals about AAA and AAT
- How to choose appropriate ways to share your animal companion
Animal Evaluations
The second part of the process is testing your animal to find out if s/he
has the right skills, temperament and manners
to do well as an animal therapist. Some people like to learn all about
AAA/ AAT before having their animals evaluated. Others want to get the
evaluation first, to know whether their animal will qualify before they
invest in the course.
You may do it either way, whichever makes you more comfortable.
Animal evaluations are done by certified evaluators and take about 20 minutes. Individual appointments will be scheduled for your animal's evaluation and testing, including the aptitude test and skills test, to become registered therapy animals. (NOTE: You need to bring proof of your animal's city or county license and rabies vaccination (certificate and receipt) to the testing appointment.)
More information is available in our workshop brochure (289 KByte PDF -- requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).