Dr Vanessa Rohlf

Compassion fatigue therapist

Dr Vanessa Rohlf is a consultant, counsellor, and educator to those who work with and care for animals. She has had a passion for supporting both people and animals from a very young age and first blended these two loves as a veterinary nurse almost 20 years ago.

Vanessa has a PhD with a specialisation in psychology (human-animal interactions), a Masters degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology and has since blended her knowledge of human psychology and human-animal interactions in a number of roles including psychology lecturer at Monash University, and researcher at the Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne. She is an associate member of the Australian Psychological Society, member of the American Psychological Association, and has registration with the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia as well as certification as a compassion fatigue therapist with Green Cross Academy of Traumatology. 

As a research fellow in the School of Psychology & Public Health at La Trobe University she regularly publishes her work in peer-reviewed journals and presents at international and national conferences.

Vanessa recognises that, while animal sheltering and rescue work is rewarding, it can also be stressful and this is why she is so passionate about supporting animal care professionals who experience compassion fatigue and burnout resulting from their work.

She currently works with people who care for animals from a range of areas including animal shelters, rescue groups, veterinary clinics, and zoos where she provides counselling and workshops on a range of topics including compassion fatigue, resilience, grief, and pet loss, and mindfulness. When she is not working, she enjoys hanging out with her Lagotto Velvet who happens to also be her perfectly supportive and reliable work buddy on those days when she works from home. 

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