Dr. Amy Johnsen Binder

Dr. Amy Johnson Binder, EdD, MA, MAT, LPC, CPDT-KA, UW-AAB, is a clinical assistant professor and coordinator of the Animal Assisted Services for Health and Wellness programs at the University of North Florida and adjunct faculty at Husson University in Maine where she develops and teaches classes related to animal assisted services and animal training. She was the founder, director and instructor of the Center for Human Animal Interventions at Oakland University in Michigan. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Michigan and has been a dog trainer for nearly two decades. In 2005, she founded and still directs the non-profit animal assisted intervention program called Teacher’s Pet: Dogs and Kids Learning Together. This 40 hour program (10 week program) pairs troubled and at-risk youth through the court and community mental health systems with harder-to-adopt shelter dogs for the benefit of both. Additionally, she is the Secretary of the Board for the American Psychological Association’s Human Animal Interactions Section 13 and Co-Chair of the Uniform Terminology Committee for an IAHAIO/AAII collaboration. She has published dozens of journal articles and book chapters on the topic of Animal Assisted Services and dog welfare in AAS.