Animal Companion Bereavement in Social Work

(1 Credit)

Grieving a companion animal can elicit profound, extended, and complicated reactions when invalidated by lack of community support, social rituals, and practitioner focus. The under treatment of pet loss as a significant mental health challenge can result in a protracted complicated grief as trauma can be a more common component. The goals of this course are a) to raise awareness of animal companion loss and its emotional impact on family, individual and community, b) to incorporate mental health assessment protocols which include attention to animal family members and their significance within the family structure across all socio-economic and racial populations, c) to apply trauma and attachment theory to better understand the unique factors of mourning companion animals, d) to modify evidenced-based interventions in treatment planning to help heal animal companion bereavement and e) to identify roles for social workers in mediating such reactions and creating opportunities for healing within their practices and communities. Pedagogical approaches include lectures, discussions, case studies and interactive learning assignments.