program overview

Sixty-seven percent of homes are interspecies! Humans have practical and spiritual questions about what to do when animals are injured, sick, lost, or die.

The stress and grief we experience during these heartbreaking moments are real. Yet it is often denied because the loss is “not human.” Beyond our homes, how do we address the heartbreak we feel seeing a deer lying on the roadside or the extinction of species on our shared planet?

Animal chaplains provide support for both animals and humans by using ritual, ceremony, and the tools of spiritual companionship. Compassion Consortium’s Animal Chaplaincy Training helps you fulfill your heart’s call to honor and celebrate the lives of all species, including how to companion them through joys and challenges.

Our curriculum combines chaplaincy fundamentals and bereavement basics with best practices from the innovative fields of interspirituality, humane education, animal theology, nature spirituality, and human-animal studies. We offer a flexible program that develops the professional skills you need to:

• Channel your passion for animals and the planet into a caring and supportive profession
• Expand your healing business to include conscious and compassionate life transitions for animals and the humans who love them
• Know what to do and say to help people navigate grief and loss in a meaningful way
• Lead individuals and groups in interspecies practices designed to increase well-being and compassion
• Develop creative rituals to support individuals, animal sanctuaries, nonprofits, veterinary practices, meditation centers, yoga programs, or religious communities

COURSE SCHEDULE

Animal Chaplaincy Training is available in 3-month, 6-month, and 9-month program durations. Choose the option that best fits your desired commitment and learning outcomes. All programs begin each September.

Training includes online learning and live sessions with faculty and guest speakers. Our program features curated reading and reflection, film discussions, peer-supported practice groups, 1-on-1 mentoring, and community-based experiential sessions. Optional in-person retreats are also available.

TUITION

Learn more about tuition, scholarship options, and payment plans at compassionconsortium.org/training.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Apply online at compassionconsortium.org/training.

“Interspecies spiritual practices and rituals opened my heart to acknowledging buried loss and helped heal the wounds that get brushed over in our culture.” —Carol S.