GACA Professional Development

 In-Person Only

Unleashing the Power of the Human-Animal Bond in your Practice: Partnering with Therapy Animals

Friday, February 7, 2025

8:45 AM Check-In 

9:00 AM Workshop Begins

12:15 PM Workshop Concludes

Location:  Ridgeview Institute, Pro North Building, 3995 South Cobb Drive, Smyrna, GA

3.0 CE Hours Approved by GACA, GAMFT, GSCSW and NAADAC.   Approved for 3.0 Clock Hours with NBCC.

Description: 

This presentation will cover the empirical foundations supporting animal-assisted interventions and help practitioners learn how to ethically offer services with therapy animals, whether or not they have a therapy animal of their own. Topics will include an overview of the different kinds of working animals, the path toward obtaining the title of “therapy animal,” and professional best practices and competencies when partnered with an animal. Alternative methods for accessing the human-animal bond such as recruiting therapy animal volunteers or offering animal-related engagement will also be outlined.

Learning objectives: 

1. Articulate the differences between therapy animals, facility animals, service animals, and emotional support animals.

2. Summarize the state of the research on animal-assisted interventions.

3. Identify necessary professional competencies that safeguard the ethical inclusion of animals in mental health practice.

Presenters:  Taylor Chastain Griffin, Ph.D. and Ashley Tolleson, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, CPCS, RPT

Taylor Chastain Griffin, Ph.D.

In her roles as National Director of AAI Advancement for Pet Partners and Executive Director of the Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals, Dr. Taylor Chastain Griffin focuses on supporting research and professional development within the therapy animal arena. Having witnessed hundreds of interactions between her own therapy animals and the people with whom they’ve visited, she is passionate about bolstering the intervention with empirical investigation. She obtained her doctorate in research psychology in 2018, with her studies focusing on the human-animal bond as it is experienced in contexts of shared traumatic experiences. From her undergraduate education in psychology and animal behavior to her graduate work to becoming a mental health counselor, she has always strived to shape her educational and professional endeavors with the foundational goal of promoting AAI. She is also a published author, dog trainer, speaker, and Pet Partners team evaluator.

Ashley Tolleson, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, CPCS, RPT

Dr. Ashley Tolleson is a Board-Certified Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in trauma-informed and creative approaches to counseling children, teens, and adults. She is the Founder and Clinical Director of the Tolleson Counseling Center in Marietta, GA, which focuses on helping clients with anxiety, stress management, trauma, and issues related to neurodiversity. In addition to her counseling practice, Dr. Tolleson hosts workshops on stress management for high-pressure industries and serves as a mental health consultant for the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association. She holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Practice and an M.S. in Mental Health Counseling from Georgia State University, is a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor, and holds the Registered Play Therapy credential. She has extensive training in Play Therapy, child and adolescent counseling, Animal-Assisted Therapy, and trauma-informed care and regularly guest lectures in counseling graduate programs on these topics. Her published work on creativity in counseling has been presented at local, national, and international conferences and she was recognized as an Emerging Leader in the counseling profession by the Association for Creativity in Counseling in 2017.

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The Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) represents the professional interests of more than 100,000 addiction counselors, educators, and other addiction-focused health care professionals.

Georgia Addiction Counselors Association has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7302.  Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Georgia Addiction Counselors Association is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.