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Animal Assisted TherapyDiploma Course

Many pet owners recognise the uplifting and comforting influence their animal companions have on daily life. Whether through emotional connection or shared activity, animals often play a meaningful role in supporting wellbeing and enhancing quality of life.

Course overview:

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9 Modules

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What Will You Learn?

The Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) Diploma Course explores how animals can positively influence human wellbeing through Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) and Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI). You'll gain insight into the observed emotional, psychological, and social benefits of human–animal interaction, supported by real-world examples and emerging research.

While the terms ‘therapy animals’ and ‘animal assistants’ are often used interchangeably, this course clarifies the distinct roles each plays and where they may overlap. You’ll also learn about the different qualities specific animals bring to supportive environments, from dogs and cats to rabbits, horses, and beyond.

Designed as an introduction to the field, this course highlights how animals can support wellbeing across a variety of settings—from educational and community environments to informal therapeutic spaces. You'll also examine the psychological impact of unmet emotional needs and how the human–animal bond can support emotional regulation, calm, and connection.

Specific topics include:

The benefits of Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) for emotional support
How therapy animals can play a role in educational, coaching, or care settings
Research into assistance animals, including guide dogs and medical alert dogs
Legal and ethical considerations around therapy and support animals
An overview of emotional development and how animal presence may aid self-awareness
Real-world applications of AAT, including use with children, neurodivergent individuals, and older adults

The course also introduces relevant psychological frameworks (such as CBT and the counselling process) to help learners understand how animals can be incorporated to enhance the client experience—within appropriate ethical and professional boundaries.

Please note: This is a knowledge-based course intended for personal development or use within complementary wellness and educational settings. It does not confer a license to practise as a therapist or animal handler in regulated clinical environments.

This course is perfeft for animal lovers and those looking to explore meaningful ways to integrate their passion for animals into personal growth or future professional interests!

The Animal Assisted Therapy Diploma is also suitable for general interest or Continuing Professional Development (CPD). It introduces learners to the wide-ranging, supportive role animals can play in promoting emotional wellbeing, social connection, and quality of life in various settings.

If you're interested in working in environments where Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) or Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) are used, this course provides a strong foundation of knowledge. You'll explore how animals contribute to human wellbeing, the distinctions between AAA and AAT, and what’s involved in ethically supporting animals within therapeutic, educational, or supportive roles.

Please note: This is an educational, non-clinical course designed to build awareness and understanding. It does not qualify students to practise as therapists or train assistance animals for regulated clinical work.

Introduction
Part 1: Terminology
Part 2: Assistance Animals
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 1 Assessment

Part 1: Psychology and Previous Approaches to Mental Health
Part 2: When Medical Support is Needed
Part 3: The Brain
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 2 Assessment

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Seligman’s PERMA Model
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 3 Assessment

Part 1: Dogs for Vision and Hearing
Part 2: Organisations that Train Specialist Dogs
Part 3: Umbrella Organisations
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 4 Assessment

Part 1: The Dog’s Amazing Nose
Part 2: Biological Detection Dogs
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 5 Assessment

Part 1: What Are Emotions?
Part 2: How Animals Affect Emotions
Part 3: Special Roles
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 6 Assessment

Part 1: Autism
Part 2: Assistance Dogs
Part 3: Other Applications
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 7 Assessment

Part 1: Physical Therapies
Part 2: Counselling-Based Therapy
Part 3: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Part 4: Where Animals Fit In
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Module 8 Assessment

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Involvement Options
Part 3: Welfare
Part 4: Stress in Animals
Part 5: Safe Practice
Test Your Knowledge
Key Learning Points Exercise
Conclusion
Module 9 Assessment

The Animal Assisted Therapy Diploma Course will take you up to 150 hours to complete working from home. This is a Level 3 course and will give you 150 CPD (Continued Professional Development) points.

Upon completion of your course assessments, you receive 2 certificates. A certificate from the Centre of Excellence and a CPD certificate displaying the number of CPD points earned from the course.

Many Centre of Excellence courses are Fully Accredited by the world’s leading professional membership association for natural medicine – The Complementary Medical Association (The CMA).

You can apply to join The CMA as a Student Member while you are still studying, and if you do so, you will be eligible to use the post-nominal letters CMA after your name.

Upon graduation from a qualifying course, you will be eligible to apply for CMA Membership, and this will give you numerous professional benefits, including being able to use the letters MCMA after your name – Member of The Complementary Medical Association. This will demonstrate your commitment to excellence and professionalism in the natural healthcare field.

Register with The CMA as a Student or fully qualified Practitioner via the CMA website. You will be asked to submit your certificate of graduation and proof of insurance.

The CMA’s recommended insurers are Westminster global.

This course is endorsed by the Quality Licence Scheme. Therefore, upon successful completion of this course, learners can also receive a certificate of achievement from Quality Licence Scheme and a Learner Unit Summary, which lists the details of all the units the learner has completed as part of the course. (This certificate is optional and costs an additional £25).

The Quality Licence Scheme is part of the Skills and Education Group, a charitable organisation that unites education and skills-orientated organisations that share similar values and objectives. With more than 100 years of collective experience, the Skills and Education Group’s strategic partnerships create opportunities to inform, influence and represent the wider education and skills sector.

The Skills and Education Group also includes two nationally recognised awarding organisations; Skills and Education Group Awards and Skills and Education Group Access. Through their awarding organisations they have developed a reputation for providing high-quality qualifications and assessments for the education and skills sector. They are committed to helping employers, organisations and learners cultivate the relevant skills for learning, skills for employment, and skills for life.

Their knowledge and experience of working within the awarding sector enables them to work with training providers, through the Quality Licence Scheme, to help them develop high-quality courses and/or training programmes for the non-regulated market.

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FAQs

There is no time limit for completing your course it can be studied in your own time at your own pace.

All of our courses vary in length but most of our courses will take you between 50 - 250 hours to complete. The length of this course can be found in the Accreditations section above.

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