Pre-Recorded Downloadable Webinar

This webinar explores behaviour as communication and the role Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) can play in supporting regulation and understanding. Moving away from control-based approaches, it looks at what unwanted behaviour may be telling us about unmet emotional, sensory and relational needs, and how well-planned AAI can support a more responsive, trauma-informed practice.

Participants will consider how the stress response shapes behaviour, how animals can support co-regulation and de-escalation, and where AAI can go wrong, including using animals as rewards or consequences, or introducing them at the wrong moment. The session is not about replacing existing behaviour frameworks. It shows how to enrich them while keeping animal welfare at the centre.

Duration: 40 minutes
Format: Pre-recorded webinar with practical examples and reflective prompts
Audience: Professionals working in schools, alternative provisions, therapeutic services, health provision, and clinical or community care settings who support people with challenging or difficult-to-understand behaviour, and who use, or are considering, Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI)

What You'll Learn:

• Describe the principle of behaviour as communication and how unmet needs sit beneath visible behaviour
• Recognise how the stress response affects a person's ability to think, engage and regulate
• Identify how AAI can support co-regulation, de-escalation and deeper understanding of the people you support
• Recognise common pitfalls, including using animals as rewards or consequences and poorly timed introductions
• Apply welfare-aware, structured approaches that align AAI with your setting's existing behaviour policies

Hosted by:

David Boxall – Training Manager at Elysian Academy, specialising in creating and delivering training programmes on animal-assisted interventions. David brings extensive experience in supporting both client outcomes and animal welfare across educational and care settings.