Trauma-informed & culturally safe training

Free training programs for the animal services sector

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Improve well-being, reduce burnout

Learn to implement a trauma-informed approach at your organization or practice! These free, complementary courses aim to help animal service workers and organization leaders learn how to implement trauma-informed and culturally safe approaches in their work, and how to mitigate the effects of burnout and compassion fatigue that are incredibly common in the animal protection sector. 

The goal of this training program is simple—to create safer, happier outcomes for animals, their guardians, and animal protection workers.

The training is:

  • Online
  • Free
  • Open to anyone worldwide
  • Geared toward animal service workers including sheltering, rescue, enforcement, veterinary services, & bylaw

When you enter your contact information below to learn more, you’ll receive a free PDF resource about simple steps you can take toward a trauma-informed approach today.

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Webinars & PDF resources

Recognized for continuing education

College of Veterinarians of British Columbia: The CVBC has approved the online courses for 1 hour of CE credit per session for BC veterinarians.

British Columbia Veterinary Technologists Association: The VHS’s online courses are approved for continuing education credit through the BCVTA, with each course counting toward 2 hours of credit.

P.E.A.C.E.: This program is offered as a training opportunity available to nonprofits, charities, and farm sanctuaries.

Course options

Implementing a Culturally Safe & Trauma-Informed Approach

This course is intended for anyone looking to learn more about how to implement trauma-informed and culturally safe approaches in their work.

Enroll for free

Trauma-Informed & Culturally Safe Leadership

This course will be particularly useful for leaders who work in the animal services sector who wish to learn more about how to create a trauma-informed, culturally safe work environment and programs.

Enroll for free

Caring For Yourself & Others: Preventing Compassion Fatigue & Burnout

This course is intended for those working in the animal services sector who wish to learn more about how to address and prevent compassion fatigue and burnout in themselves and others.

Enroll for free

Each course is about two hours long. They can be taken in conjunction or separately.

See who has enrolled in the training:

1,627

People

8

Provinces

Participants have included animal services workers in:

  • Leadership/Management
  • Education/Outreach
  • Animal sheltering/Care
  • Animal health/Vet technician
  • Administration
  • Bylaw/Animal control
“I did all the course modules (once I started I couldn’t stop!) … I believe these are incredibly well done, relevant, useful modules and any organization would benefit from them.” 
Animal services worker
“I highly enjoyed this. You have found a beautiful balance of providing information, as well as additional resources to dig into. The course covers important points without being repetitive.”
Animal services leader
“…new and great tools to use to expand our program to include these ideas. The questions, quizzes and activities were great to make you think about what you just learned and help you implement some of the ideas.” 
Animal services worker

Group workshops for your organization

Interested organizations can access resources for FREE to host your own workshops covering any or all of the above course options! Engaging in these training workshops as a team can encourage:

  • Group collaboration and discussion
  • Brainstorming creative solutions
  • Team-building and support

Your team will be able to practice trauma-informed scenarios together to begin the shift toward a more trauma-informed and culturally safe approach in your organization. 

If you’re interested in hosting a workshop for your organization, please see all our resources here.

The study that started it all

In June 2021, VHS published a report called Helping People and Animals Together: Taking a Trauma-Informed, Culturally Safe Approach Towards Assisting Placed-at-Risk People with Addressing Animal Neglect. The learnings from this report are now an online training program, consisting of three complementary courses. 

The information shared in these trainings is rooted in the lived experiences of animal protection workers that were interviewed—including real-life scenarios they’ve been in and recommendations they highlighted.

The courses include videos, graphics, worksheets, reflection activities, interactive questions and quizzes, all intended to help you and your team brainstorm creative ways to shift practices and policies towards a more trauma-informed and culturally safe approach. 

Read the report

The report that this training is based on was made possible by funding from the Government of British Columbia’s Ministry of Agriculture through their Canadian Agricultural Partnership initiative. We thank them for their support of this project. The views expressed in this report do not reflect the views of the funders.

We would also like to thank the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada and the Vancouver Foundation for supporting this project as a whole.