Provide Gold Standard Care

learn how to provide a more proactive and compassionate care programme

This activity equates to 7-Hours pf CPD Accredited and RACE Approved 1608-42537 points

Grief affects people’s mental health and general wellbeing and it is our responsibility to be able to recognise when a client requires our validation of loss and further support.

  Providing more proactive compassionate care, and having a deeper understanding of the bereavement stages, and how this manifests in our clients.

"learning to spot the early signs of compassion fatigue in both ourselves and our colleagues will help to prevent and/or ease this emotional trauma and the resulting client loss"



The aim of this course is to ensure that both yourself as a veterinary professional and your practice are providing Gold Standard Bereavement Support for your Clients.



By completing this course, you will learn how to provide a more proactive compassionate care programme in practice and gain a deeper understanding of the bereavement stages and how to better support your clients at a difficult time.

Also learning about the effects that compassion fatigue can have on an individual, your colleagues and the veterinary practice as a whole and understanding how we can effectively manage this by awareness.




Don't just take our word for it...

Debbie Adamson

5 star rating

“I started this course to help me at work, about a week into it I lost my beloved pooch, Jack, rather unexpectedly and felt so devastated and upset; it was quite hard to carry on with the course as I cried pretty much all the way through it but ...”

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“I started this course to help me at work, about a week into it I lost my beloved pooch, Jack, rather unexpectedly and felt so devastated and upset; it was quite hard to carry on with the course as I cried pretty much all the way through it but not only did I get a lot more knowledge as someone who works in a vets, it helped me so much on a personal level with my own thoughts and feelings. So thank you Carrie and Vicki at Innovet for making this course available, it was really worthwhile and I am so glad to have been able to complete it. Would highly recommend, many thanks, Debbie ”

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April Louise Murphy

5 star rating

“I decided to take this course because I read the 1 hour CPD for how to handle pet loss during COVID and the information really interested me. This course has been really inspiring and knowledgeable. I have learnt so much. Carrie teaches the course...”

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“I decided to take this course because I read the 1 hour CPD for how to handle pet loss during COVID and the information really interested me. This course has been really inspiring and knowledgeable. I have learnt so much. Carrie teaches the course so brilliantly. The mixture of videos, power point slides, workbook and assessment questions is fantastic. In branch at present, I write out the sympathy cards and put forget me not seeds in the card and send these to clients. However, Carrie's idea of the grief packs is amazing and I will be speaking to work to try and implement this. I feel pet loss and bereavement support is so important in practice and we need to show clients that we are there for them - even in their darkest days. I would encourage anyone working in the veterinary industry to take this course - whether you are a vet, vet nurse, receptionist etc you will all benefit from this course. Carrie- You are fantastic. Thank you so much for providing such a fantastic course.”

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Laura Owen

4 star rating

“This course was delivered in nice compact parts, making it easy to watch/read/complete when time allowed. You can tell from the videos that Carrie really believes in what she is talking about and has passion for the subject. The only flaw is there...”

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“This course was delivered in nice compact parts, making it easy to watch/read/complete when time allowed. You can tell from the videos that Carrie really believes in what she is talking about and has passion for the subject. The only flaw is there are a few spelling mistakes in the quizzes and that the questions such as "do you believe", no answer appeared correct. We give our clients pre-euthanasia packs and I selected that I feel they benefit the client, but this answer was incorrect. This was the same for the question about whether I was aware of the support available for veterinary staff, to which I selected "yes", but was told this answer was incorrect. "Thank you Laura, for the honest and constructive review. Carrie truly is extremely passionate about the subject of Pet Bereavement and we are proud that this has come across in her course. We have reviewed the Quiz content and have rectified the spelling, as well as amending any questions that were causing issues with the incorrect markings."”

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Pricing options

Choose to pay for the course now, or in three easy to manage instalments. Same course same cost.

Aims & Objectives

Pet Loss and Bereavement Support Advisor Online Accredited CPD Course

Module 1: The Client Journey: Providing Exceptional End-of-Life Support

Key learning Objectives
•Understanding what constitutes exceptional end of life support
•Be able to look at different types of bond and how we can relate these to our clients
•To fully understand how to adapt our care and support with our clients who have special needs.


Module 2: How the Veterinary Team can help?

Key learning Aims and Objectives
•Understanding the important role of the Pet Bereavement and Loss Advisor in veterinary practice
•An overview of counselling and emotional support skills.
•How can we assess client support needs to ensure that client support is exceptional?
•Guidance on effective communication and listening skills at this sensitive time. What to say and what not to say
•Identifying how to support each other within practice and managing compassion fatigue.
•Guidance on how to approach the subject of payment with sensitivity at this time.
•Be able to review and advise on remembrance, rituals and client support resources available.

Module 3: Grief and the Bereavement Process

Key Learning Aims and Objectives
•To understand fully the 5 stages of grief
•A detailed look at different types of grief and how to identify these in our clients.
•To identify how children are affected by the loss of a pet
•To identify and understand grief in surviving pets
•To identify how elderly clients are affected by the loss of a pet and address their specific needs

Course curriculum

  • 01

    Introduction

  • 02

    Module 1: The Client Journey, "Providing exceptional end-of-life support".

    • Unit 1 - Make Client Support Exceptional

    • Unit 2 - Different Types of Bond

    • Unit 3 - Support Considerations & Communication

    • Module 1: The Client Journey - Quiz.

    • Module 1 Video recap
  • 03

    Module 2: How the Veterinary Team can help each other, "Managing compassion fatigue".

    • You are not in this alone.

    • Module 2: How the veterinary team can help each other - Quiz.

    • Module 2 Video recap
  • 04

    Module 3: Grief and the Bereavement Process.

    • Grief and the bereavement process.

    • Module 3; Grief and the bereavement process - Quiz.

    • Module 3 Video recap
  • 05

    Module 4: Respect To The End.

    • Respect to the end

    • Module 4; Respect to the end - Quiz.

    • Module 4 video recap

About Carrie.

Instructor Bio:

My name is Carrie Ball and i am a Companion Animal Bereavement Counsellor.In 2001 I completed the diploma of companion animal bereavment counselling. Since then I have achieved a Level 3 certificate in Pet bereavement and a diploma in counselling skills. I am also a Level 2 Veterinary Care Assistant and i started working in veterinary practice in 1999.I have seen many pets come and go. The expected and the unexpected losses, the horrific accidents and terminally ill patients. I decided after witnessing my first euthanasia, that I never wanted anyone to feel so sad, lost and abandoned again.The loss of a pet, no matter how big or small is like losing a relative or a close friend. It can be a very lonely time, and I aim to be the person that 'gets it' and truly understands.I wrote an open letter to that first Dog. 'Dear Little Brown Dog' and can be found on Wordpress, by my company, Cycle Counselling. Do take a look, it was written from the heart and was the reason why I became a Pet Bereavement Counsellor.I want to help you to help and fully support your clients. All too often veterinary clients are sent away with bare minimum of support, and I aim to change that.

Carrie Ball

ACC Dip Pet Bereavement Counsellor

Pricing options

Choose to pay for the course now, or in three easy to manage instalments. Same course same cost.