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Digital Seminar

Pet Loss Grief Counseling Trained Professional

Faculty:
Diana Sebzda, LPC, FT
Duration:
6 Hours 20 Minutes
Copyright:
04 Jun, 2025
Product Code:
POS057380
Media Type:
Digital Seminar
Access:
Never expires.
Choose a price item
Price includes GST Add to Cart

Description

The grief that accompanies a pet’s death can be overwhelming. Guilt-inducing decisions surrounding euthanasia are common; and friends and family may minimise the loss, isolating the griever and prolonging their symptoms.

When grieving pet owners feel like they can’t go on, they can find themselves in need of a mental health professional. But clinicians with training specific to pet loss can be difficult to find…

This seminar will allow you to add a new dimension to your practice as a Pet Loss Grief Counselling Trained Professional and fill a critical gap in the therapeutic landscape!

You’ll get detailed guidance on how you can skillfully work with clients grieving the loss of their pet and confidently handle the specific issues that arise in pet loss grief work.

Discover how you can:

  • Help clients grieve openly for the loss of their pet without fear of judgment or having their loss minimised
  • Skillfully work through anticipatory grief with clients who have pets with a terminal diagnosis
  • Diminish the guilt associated with euthanasia
  • Guide clients in grief rituals that honour their pet and help move them forward in bereavement

Upon completion, you’ll get a displayable certificate of recognition that you can instantly print, letting clients know that you’ve taken the time and effort to get specialised training on this specific area of counseling and support.

Don’t wait to add these valuable skills and strategies to your therapeutic toolbox…

Purchase today!

CPD

Faculty

Diana Sebzda, LPC, FT's Profile

Diana Sebzda, LPC, FT Related seminars and products

Diane Sebzda, LPC, FT, is a licensed professional counselor with betterhelp.com, where she provides individual counseling for those coping with grief, anticipatory grief, and pet loss. In addition to 22 years of grief counseling experience, Diana also has over 15 years of experience as a veterinary technician where she’s witnessed the impacts of end of life and pet loss firsthand. Diana has been published in Healthy Pet Magazine and is a Fellow in Thanatology (FT) with the Association for Death Education and Counseling (where she is co-chair of their Pet Loss Networking Group). Diana earned her MA degree in Applied Clinical Psychology from William Patterson University.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Diana Sebzda is a counselor with BetterHelp.com. She receives compensation as a speaker and consultant. Diana Sebzda receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Diana Sebzda is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling.

Additional Info

Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)

Access never expires for this product.

For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com


Objectives

  1. Investigate how pet loss grief is often minimised by others and determine how this can impact a client’s symptomology.
  2. Apply psychoeducation approaches with clients to help normalise the grief experienced following the death of a pet.
  3. Demonstrate to clients how mourning rituals can be used to help them better cope with the loss of a pet.
  4. Formulate a plan to help clients better understand the nature of disenfranchised grief so they can grieve the loss of a pet without fear of judgment.
  5. Evaluate how the complex decisions involved in saying goodbye to a pet, including euthanasia can lead to guilt and self-blame in clients.
  6. Integrate expectations about anticipatory grief and end of life issues into sessions with clients to help them better prepare for an upcoming loss. 

Outline

Client Grief Education:
How Pet Loss Grief Differs from Other Grief
  • How pet loss is often minimised by others
  • Why typical support systems may be unavailable
  • Unrealistic expectations about the grief process
The Role of Attachment in Pet Loss Grief:
Why Understanding Pet Bonding is Key to Compassionate Counselling
  • History of the human animal bond
  • Three types of pet bonds counsellors need to know
  • The economics of pet bonds
  • Cultural and familial norms of pet relationships
The Disenfranchised Grief of Pet Loss:
Strategies to Help Clients Grieve Without Fear of Judgment
  • How to help clients understand the nature of a disenfranchised grief
  • Strategies to help clients externalise grief thoughts and feelings
  • How to find like-minded supports for clients
  • Techniques for educating clients and others on what is appropriate in grief
Anticipatory Grief:
Helping Clients with Pets Nearing the End
  • Understanding anticipatory grief
  • The role of pet parent and caregiver
  • How to help clients develop a trusting relationship with their veterinarian
  • Palliative care vs. Hospice care issues
Euthanasia in Pet Loss Grief:
Effective Interventions for Anger and Guilt
  • Strategies to help clients cope with anger, guilt and regret
  • Teach clients to use a caregiver journal to name and express feelings
  • Positive self-talk exercises to help clients heal
Mourning Rituals to Help Clients Cope with Pet Loss
  • Role of religion and belief in spirit
  • How clients can make a special place to honour and remember pets
  • The role of the veterinarian or pet memorial park
  • Continuing bonds to provide comfort and support
  • Use linking objects exercises to reduce the impact of loss
Group Therapy:
How to Create and Lead Pet Loss Support Groups
  • Group types -- closed or open, self-help or educational
  • Implementation and marketing strategies for your group
  • 3 ways to quickly build trust and rapport with group members
  • How to ensure group safety

Target Audience

  • Counsellors
  • Social Workers
  • Psychologists
  • Marriage & Family Therapists
  • Physicians
  • Nurses
  • Case Managers
  • Chaplains/Clergy
  • Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
  • Thanatologists

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