Animal-assisted therapy is booming, and professionals who specialize in it will succeed in carving out a niche for themselves in the sector”

One of the areas where animal-assisted therapies are showing more effective results in the practice of Psychology, as such therapies can actively help to improve aspects of life at a general and specific level, given the necessary resources to carry them out efficiently, and thus achieving proposed objectives and their general use in daily life. Therefore, this academic program will focus on providing psychologists with the competencies to work efficiently while applying and designing therapies based on Psychology. This will also allow students to analyze the theoretical background of learning, the types and mechanisms that enable it, the programs that contribute to its development and updating, as well as its relationship with other processes.

This program addresses the fundamental differences between Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) or Animal Assisted-Therapies (AAT) as opposed to Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) in professional practice.  

It addresses three fundamental aspects: classification and function depending on the benefits obtained, the importance of a multidisciplinary team that significantly helps cover the wide range of pathologies AAI is used for, and the research involved, given how important the animal co-therapist is in the field of human health. There is, therefore, a need to become familiar with all its benefits and improve the knowledge of AAI. It also addresses the current legislation regarding AAI. Animal protection is becoming more and more prominent in countries around the world, and the legal framework lays the foundations for respect in human / animal relationships.

The increase in the number of companion animals and the greater concern for their well-being have created concern over animal sentience and awareness in cases of animal cruelty and mistreatment. This postgraduate diploma addresses the solid arguments and justification for the responsible use of animals in assisted interventions without affecting their well-being during the activity.

Likewise, it delves deep into the solid arguments and justification for the responsible use of animals in assisted interventions without affecting their well-being during the activity.

A high-level academic option, designed by professionals of international prestige”

This postgraduate diploma in Psychology of Learning in Animal-Assisted Therapies contains the most complete and up-to-date academic program on the market. The most important features of the program include:

• Practical cases presented by experts in Animal-Assisted Therapies 
• The graphic, schematic, and eminently practical contents with which they are created, provide scientific and practical information on the disciplines that are essential for professional practice
• Breakthroughs in Animal-Assisted Therapies 
• Practical exercises where the self-assessment process can be carried out to improve learning 
• Special emphasis on innovative methodologies in Animal-Assisted Therapies 
• Theoretical lessons, questions to the expert, debate forums on controversial topics, and individual reflection assignments 
• Content that is accessible from any fixed or portable device with an Internet connection

This postgraduate diploma has the best didactic material, enabling a contextual study that will facilitate your learning”

The programs teaching staff includes professionals in the sector who contribute their work experience to this training course, as well as renowned specialists from leading societies and prestigious universities.

The multimedia content, developed with the latest educational technology, will provide the professional with situated and contextual learning, i.e., a simulated environment that will provide immersive training programmed to train in real situations.

This program is designed around Problem-Based Learning, whereby the professional must try to solve the different professional practice situations that arise during the academic program. For this purpose, the professional will be assisted by an innovative, interactive video system created by renowned and experienced experts in Animal-Assisted Therapies.

Animal-assisted therapies provide both patients and therapists with numerous benefits that this program includes in detail"

This is your opportunity to specialize in a booming field within Psychology and take your knowledge to the next level"

The main objective of this training is to help psychologists understand the importance and the excellent results that Animal-Assisted Therapies have for people with psychological problems. Thus, after completing this training, professionals will be fully capable of designing and implementing this type of interventions, offering optimal conditions for both the animals and the users participating in the therapy. This will not only increase students' professional competencies, but will also make them much better prepared to work as psychologists in various fields.

You will have at your disposal numerous case studies that will teach you how to act in real situations”

General Objectives

• Analyze the holistic change people undergo through Animal-Assisted Therapies (AAT) 
• Determine the need for a multidisciplinary team in Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI)
• Develop the legal framework to create an AAI entity  
• Demonstrate through scientific theories and research how some animals have the phylogenetic and ontogenetic capacity to generate affiliative behaviors in humans until they develop a stable bond 
• Analyze the importance given to the life of the species they work with from the conception of the well-being generated and the responsible ethics that commits them
• Identify the importance of positive interaction between animals and people, recognizing the role that each one plays and the balanced formation of the animal-guide binomial
• Justify the decision to choose a particular species in an assisted intervention program as opposed to other types of methods that do not include animals 
• Develop learning processes 
• Examine the theoretical and practical bases of learning 
• Review the main mechanisms involved in a change in learning 
• Present the current status and future outlook of learning studies

Specific Objectives

Module 1. Animal-Assisted Therapies

• Determine the differences between AAI, AAA, and PAR 
• Analyze the past of Animal-Assisted Therapies to develop future research 
• Establish animal-assisted coaching and psychotherapy as an important part of Animal-Assisted Therapies 
• Examine relevant legislation to establish an AAI entity 
• Learn how to prevent and respond to accidents  

Module 2. Fundamentals of Anthrozoology

• Compile the different theories of how, when and why some animals were domesticated 
• Demonstrate through evidence-based science how the cognitive abilities of certain animals are generated
• Determine the importance of providing quality of life and well-being to the animals involved
• Evaluate the different ideological positions on the ethical treatment of animals, their rights and the duties we have towards them
• Establish the impact that humans have when manipulating wild species and the resulting degradation of their natural environments
• Examine the role that companion animals, in particular, assisted intervention animals can play in different population groups
• Address the emotional aspects of the death of a companion animal for the family environment

Module 3. Psychology of Learning

• Develop the main paradigms in learning processes 
• Determine behavior as the main axis of learning
• Analyze the concepts of reinforcement and punishment 
• Examine the main reinforcement programs 
• Understand the importance of forgetting as a learning process 
• Explore the neurobiological basis of learning 
• Distinguish the importance of cognition in the learning process

As it is a 100% online update program, you will be able to balance your studies with your professional work while increasing your knowledge of the field”