Testimonials

"Prior to the Certification in Clinical Integrative Canine Rehabilitation course I had only some knowledge on canine rehabilitation - mainly laser therapy, underwater treadmill and veterinary acupuncture. The course helped me understand the basic principles of canine rehabilitation, diagnosis, goals, different treatment modalities and exercises (home and in consult). The course was easy to follow and the skills learnt are applicable and achievable by veterinarians in any small animal practice. I am a qualified veterinary acupuncturist and now implement my knowledge and new skills into every one of my sessions. Adding a home exercises regime for my clients to do has made a significant difference to the recovery time of my patients as well! Having existing knowledge on TCM, the course integrated this well. I appreciated that the course also ran though common conditions seen in practice and how these were assessed, worked up and treated. The before & after videos on specific cases that Tanya has treated in practice were great as well."

Dr Alison Shen

Dr Alison Shen, Australia, BVSc (hons), CVA, CCICR (CIVT)

Australia

"The Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Acupuncture has allowed me to access other avenues to treat veterinary patients in a more holistic approach to their ailments. I am now able to integrate the best of Western medicine with the best of traditional Chinese medicine to solve both short and long-term conditions. I was inspired to pursue acupuncture and complementary medicine to reduce the side-effects and tailor my medicine to individual patients, particularly in elderly animals. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have given me an additional armoury to treat all veterinary patients."

Dr David Ward

BVMS, BScAgr, MScVS, GDVA, CCRP

Australia

Dr Rachael Parsons

BVSc (Hons)

Australia

"I had always cared for myself in a herbal and holistic manner and was lucky enough to work along side Veerle Dejonckheere who provided me with the inspiration and encouragement to start my veterinary herbal training.  I wanted to be able to do more for my patients and provide them with more complete care, whilst enabling their owners to be more proactive.  The course has changed my entire view of clinical practice and, although I still work in conventional veterinary medicine practices, all of my clinical work has been improved by this course.  By being able to give enough time to clients and patients and by having the luxury of getting to know them, the care that I can provide is totally different and can touch on all aspects of their life.  The course is very detailed and guides you well through the work needed to gain a deeper understanding.  My understanding and knowledge of cytokines and physiology has improved exponentially from this course.  The depth of detail given and the support from tutors is brilliant.  I am so happy to have been introduced to CIVT and all that it offers and am very proud indeed to have completed my Graduate Diploma."

Dr Clara Greenwood

BVM, IBSc, MSc, CVWHM, MRCVS, GDVWHM

United Kingdom

"My journey in herbal medicine started more than 15 years ago after seeing phytotherapy in veterinary practice in France before I moved to the UK. I trained in herbal medicine through a modular certificate course in the UK shortly after. Very few vets were trained or even aware of western herbal veterinary medicine at the time. Together with some colleagues, we founded the British Association of Veterinary Herbalists. I have worked as a pure referral integrated vet for the last ten years, combining acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal medicine in rehabilitation and conventional veterinary settings. The postgraduate Western herbal medicine diploma RPL route has allowed me to gain an internationally recognised qualification. It has been a time of reflection, deepening understanding and reviewing my practice which has had a significant impact personally and professionally. I am immensely proud that I am now a member of a select group of vets worldwide who has achieved greater depth in western herbal medicine. I want to especially thank Barbara Fougere, who encouraged me to take this RPL step and kept me going when lockdown homeschooling and case log writing got a bit much."

Dr Veerle Dejonkheere

MRCVS, GDVWHM

United Kingdom

"The nutrition course was a valuable learning experience for me as a practicing veterinarian. It was remarkably thorough in its scope and provided detailed useful information (which has been my experience with all of my CIVT courses).  Different lecturers had different opinions and methods for diet recommendation which gave the student room to develop individual approaches.  I have become much more comfortable and knowledgeable when discussing nutrition with my clients. Thank you!"

Dr Leah Whipple

VMD, CVA, GDVWHM, CVNN

United States of America

"I became interested in Integrative Medicine shortly after graduation from veterinary school. I was doing an internship at a teaching hospital and saw that a number of patients with chronic diseases that could not be managed well with traditional medical treatment. I did a lot of self-study for a number of years before I was able to attend my first formal training course, Options for Animals Chiropractic course, in 1999. It has been an exceptional journey since then, exploring a number of treatment modalities with some exceptionally caring and talented teachers. 

I have been working with Western Herbs for a number of years but decided to take the Graduate Diploma program from CIVT as a gift to myself. I wanted to undertake a structured program from experienced teachers that would result in a credential that would have meaning to both my clients and my colleagues. The course was everything that I had hoped for and more. The didactic material provided a solid foundation in the theory and practice of Western Herbalism, and the assignments and student forums gave me a broad range of approaches to cases we see every day in practice. I'm so happy that I decided to make the commitment to take the course. My next steps are going to be a deeper dive into a few different aspects of Western Herbal medicine that I discovered during the course. I'm so thankful for the instructors and fellow students for all the help they gave me along the way."

Dr Neal Sivula

DVM, PhD, FAAVA, GDVWHM

United States of America

"My hope/expectations for this course were exceeded!! I was hoping to learn how to formulate diets, discuss nutrition with my clients confidently, learn the differences and pitfalls of all the diet options available to owners at this time. All these topics were covered extremely thoroughly! Thank you."

Dr Anja Hunter

DVM, CertNAN (CIVT)

United States of America

"The Natural Nutrition course offered by CIVT was outstanding. I have completed many online courses and none of them compare this robust and rigorous education. The pace was quick, with readings and a few videos interspersed throughout. The assignments really hammered home the material and were an opportunity to practice what we learned. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and it has become integral to my practice. I recommend this course to anyone who is interested in a thorough and grounded view on canine and feline nutrition, from pet owners to veterinarians." 

Gillian Gallimore

MMSt, BSci (Hons)

Canada

"I was delighted to have the opportunity to use the ADF Formulator as part of my Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Acupuncture course. For years I have seen the benefits of feeding "real food" in my patients, and increasing numbers of clients are asking for help in formulating homemade diets. The ADF program allowed me to formulate both raw and home-cooked diets that are tailored to individual patients, and I have the comfort in knowing that they are balanced properly. It allows you to choose from a large database of foods and supplements so that you can use ingredients that are both available to your clients, and those that are best suited to their health and medical needs. What a great tool at our fingertips!"

Dr Ashley Bernauer

BSc (Hons), DVM, GDVA

Canada

"I became intersted in adding acupuncture to my practice as a way to fill in the gaps when Western medicine wasn't enough. I found this course to be a great review of the principles of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine as well as providing an introduction to herbal medicine. The way the lessons were set up made it easy to fit into a busy schedule because I didn't need to devote large chinks of time all at once. It has given me more confidence in choosing basic formulas and the desire to continue with further studies."

Dr Julie Smiley

DVM

United States of America

"The graduate diploma is a big deal for me. Twenty years ago I began my journey into alternative medicine by getting certified in acupuncture. Since that time I have taken many acupuncture and herb courses and have been slowly integrating that knowledge into my practice. When I realized that herbal medicine could carry beyond the dead ends in western medicine and could solve many of our problems without side effects I decided I wanted to learn as much as I could about Western herbal medicine. So I signed up for the CIVT VWHM course. It was fabulous! Now at age 67 instead of being burned out  and retiring, I am energized and full of confidence to practice good quality integrative medicine. I hope  also to enlighten some of my colleagues as to the benefits of herbal medicine!"

Dr Leah Whipple

VMD, CVA, GDVWHM, CVNAN

United States of America