Trainer: Alison Leslie
On-Demand: Available with lifetime access for asynchronous learning. | This course was recorded on May 8th, 2025.
The human-animal bond is more than just companionship, it’s a powerful source of safety, regulation, and attachment. For many trauma survivors, animals serve as co-regulators, providing a sense of stability that traditional therapeutic approaches may struggle to replicate. But how do you ethically and effectively integrate this bond into EMDR therapy? This course bridges that gap, giving you the tools to honor and incorporate the deep connection clients have with their animals into trauma processing.
You’ll learn how to recognize when an animal’s presence or memory can serve as a resource, how to weave attachment-based interventions into EMDR, and how to navigate grief and loss when a client’s animal has passed. Whether you work directly with therapy animals or simply want to integrate the human-animal bond into your practice, this course provides a framework for deepening the healing process in an ethical and trauma-informed way.
Because the best learning happens when you feel safe. Ask freely, show up fully, and learn in a relational, non-judgmental environment built for practitioners like you.
Expect real case examples, clear guidance, and a teaching style that makes even complex topics feel approachable so you can confidently use what you learn in session right away.
Join a community of clinicians learning side by side, sharing real case insights and peer support so you can grow your skills with confidence alongside your peers in meaningful connection.
This training introduces specific somatic skills and body-based interventions that integrate directly into your existing EMDR practice across all 8 phases. Each technique is taught with clear clinical rationale and practical application.
By the end of this training, you will be able to:
On-demand integrative EMDR training, polyvagal-informed teaching, and a supportive clinician community.
Integrate the human-animal bond into every phase of the EMDR protocol - therapy animal not required.
Use the bond with clients' animals to build resourcing and strengthen adaptive memory networks.
Apply human-animal bond interweaves to support dual attention and presence during desensitization.
Submit questions and connect with peers through the on-demand course community.
Hold space for pet loss with trauma-informed strategies that honor the depth of the bond.
On-demand access means you go at your own pace. Lifetime access is included, so you can return whenever you need it.
Case-grounded teaching from a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, EMDRIA-approved trainer, and animal-assisted services specialist.
Join TTI's shame-free community of practitioners for ongoing conversations, support, and resources. No cost, no catch.
This training is for EMDR-trained therapists who want to work more confidently with the body in trauma sessions. If you have completed EMDR Basic Training and are looking for concrete, somatic tools to bring into your EMDR practice, this course was built for you.
You will get the most out of this training if you are:
Alison is a licensed clinical social worker who lives in Bloomington, IN and owns her own private practice, Empower Healing Counseling and Consultation.
Alison approaches therapy through the lens of presence and attunement and believes in being a guide to help clients find their own internal healing powers. She has a background in animal-assisted services and includes the human-animal bond and nature in the therapeutic experience. Alison Leslie is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Transforming Touch Therapist as well as an EMDRIA-approved therapist, consultant, and trainer.
In consultation, Alison likes to meet the consultee where they are at and support helping the consult become embodied in the work they are doing and lean into their own internal guide as she supports their growth.
Introduction to the Human Animal Bond and Animal Assisted Services; animal welfare consideration; Neurobiological impact across the lifespan
Phase 1: History taking through the lens of the Human Animal Bond; Phase 2: Creating adaptive neural networks (experiential activity)
Animals as the guide to healing; phase 4 interweaves, dual attention, and closure strategies (experiential activity)
Special Topics: understanding calming signals in our animals; pet loss; exploring next steps in animal-assisted services
EMDR Basic Training
4 CEs are available upon completion of all course material.
Trauma Therapist Institute is an approved continuing education provider. ACE and NBCC CEs are available for this course. This course is not approved for APA or EMDRIA CEs.
Participants must complete the full training to receive credit.
Trauma Therapist Institute, #1869, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 1/16/25 - 1/16/28. Social workers completing this course receive 6 clinical continuing education credits.
Trauma Therapist Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7033. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Kase & CO is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
To receive a CE certificate, participants must complete the entire course, complete the post-test with a score of 80% or above, and complete the course evaluation. You may retake the post-test as needed. Once completed, a CE certificate will auto-populate to your online account.
Please reference our cancellation policy here (bottom section of this page).
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