Losing a pet is hard enough.
We train the counsellors who help people grieve it well.
Earn the TRACE Methodology Practitioner certificate, the only framework built specifically for pet bereavement counselling, then learn how to turn it into a real practice.
Founding member pricing available for our first 50 students. See what’s included
A credential that leads somewhere
TRACE isn't human grief counselling with “pet” bolted on. It's grounded in Continuing Bonds Theory and Worden's Four Tasks of Mourning, built specifically for the human-animal bond.
Every graduate gets a verified listing in our directory of over 1,600 specialist counsellors, the same directory pet owners actually search when they need help.
Our practice-building module covers pricing, referrals and marketing, so the credential turns into a caseload, not just a certificate on the wall.
Looking for support instead of training? Find a counsellor
The TRACE Method
A five-step framework grounded in Worden’s Four Tasks of Mourning and Continuing Bonds Theory, built for compassionate practitioners, not clinical psychologists.
Invite the pet owner to share who their pet was: their personality, how they came into their life, what made them irreplaceable.
Explicitly validate the depth of the human-animal relationship. This is not 'just a dog.' The counsellor says so, clearly and without qualification.
Gently explore the grief. What are they feeling? What do they miss most? What is hardest day to day? This is the core therapeutic work.
Gather memories, photos, stories, routines: the defining moments of a relationship. This is where the memorial page begins to take shape.
Moving forward without leaving behind. The pet lives on in memory, in the memorial, in how the owner was changed by the relationship.
Looking for a counsellor rather than training to become one? Search our directory of 1,600+ specialists by dog, cat or online support.
Search the directoryGrief guidance
Yes. Here is what the research says and why your grief is valid.
Practical guidance on what grief looks like and how to find support.
One of the most common and most painful parts of pet bereavement.
Grieving before the loss, when your pet is elderly or ill.