Pet Bereavement Counselling Diploma - Unconditional Loss

Our Pet Bereavement Counselling Diploma 'Unconditional Loss'  has been primarily designed for those who wish to learn more about this underrepresented area of counselling - including but not restricted to, veterinary staff, anyone currently working in the animal related industry, or those with an interest in supporting pet carers during bereavement. We welcome veterinary professionals looking to learn more about the counselling side of pet bereavement, for example, styles, types and stages of grief and how to support pet carers pre, during and post the death of their companion animal

Our course is written by Dawn Murray and is based on her 2 decades of first hand experience as a Pet Undertaker and a Pet Bereavement Counsellor. 

Every student will have an assigned tutor for the duration of their course who can provide guidance and direction - and more importantly someone to talk to and discuss the students learning journey.

On completion of the course you will have the basic knowledge and understanding of what is required to support clients through pet bereavement. 

The course consists of 6 modules which the student can study in their own time, at the end of each module the student will be asked to undertake a written assessment consisting of a number of questions, this is to show they have gained enough knowledge to proceed to the next module.

What will you learn?

Module 1 - Bereavement & Grief - this module examines the types of grief and the stages of grieving which impact on pet bereavement -

• Types of Grief
• Stages of Grieving
• Signs and Symptoms of Grief

Module 2 - Surviving Pets, Children & Elderly - this module examines how surviving pets cope with grief and also examines how pet loss impacts children and the elderly -

• Do pets grieve?
• Children and pet loss
• The elderly and pet loss

Module 3 - Ambiguous Loss - this module looks at the specific issues related to ambiguous loss and how the impact pet carers

• Ambiguous Loss
• The role of the Pet Bereavement Counsellor
• Stages of Ambiguous loss
• Coping Strategies

Module 4 - The Counsellor - this module examines in-depth the counselling skills needed to provide Pet Bereavement Counselling and focuses on how a Counselling session will work with your clients.

• Counselling
• How we help pet carers
• Building rapport
• Effective communication
• Delivery of Pet Bereavement counselling
• Counselling Session
• Counsellor Fatigue

Module 5 - Alternative Therapies - this module introduces alternative therapies which can help during the pet carers bereavement journey

• Introducing Alternative Therapies
• Person-Centred Therapy
• Complementary Therapies

Module 6 - Practical Counselling- this module takes the student through, step by step, a case study where we examine everything we have learned and put it to a practical use

Students will receive a Certificate from both Living with Pet Bereavement and the CPD Certification Service on successful completion of the Diploma course. Our Diploma is not a counselling qualification, we address the term 'counsellor' as part of the course.