Mindful Animal Care and Training. Presented by Dr. Vanessa Rohlf

CEUs: PPAB 1, IAABC 1, KPA 1

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention non-judgmentally, on purpose, in the present moment. Working in careers which require sustained attention, where timing is everything and controlled movement is essential, mindfulness is vital to successful animal care and training. Evidence also suggests that mindfulness is associated with significant reductions in compassion fatigue, burnout, and stress. The COVID-19 pandemic along with being a health, economic, and mental health crisis brings with it enormous uncertainly. So, what better time than now to learn the tools to help you find peace, up your business game through the application of mindfulness, and prevent burnout and stress.

In this presentation, attendees will learn about the principles underlying mindfulness and how mindfulness can be used to decrease stress and improve job performance. Attendees will have the opportunity to practice mindfulness meditation and discuss real life applications to their practices as trainers and carers during this presentation.

 

About Your Presenter    

Dr. Vanessa Rohlf

Dr. Rohlf is a counsellor and educator to those who work with, and care for animals. She has a Ph.D with a specialization in psychology (human-animal interactions), a master’s in counselling and psychotherapy, and a bachelor’s (with honors) in psychology. She has blended her practical and theoretical knowledge of human psychology and human-animal interactions in several previous roles over the last 20 years. These include veterinary nursing, psychology lecturer at Monash University and animal welfare researcher at the Animal Welfare Science Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia. She is a certified compassion fatigue therapist and educator and has additional qualifications in mindfulness and animal bereavement. As a member of the Green Cross Academy of Traumatology and research fellow in the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University in Melbourne, she presents her work via international peer-reviewed journal articles and conferences.

She regularly works with the animal industry and individual pet professionals, including veterinary clinics, zoos, animal training, and animal shelters, by providing them with support through the provision of evidence-based training and counselling services. She also provides counselling services to pet owners on stress, caregiver burnout, grief, and loss. When she isn’t working with animal carers, she spends her time with her family, which includes two young children and her 11-year-old Lagotto Romagnolo, Velvet.