Healing Companions by Jane Miller

The Author

Ahava, Jane, and Simcha Miller
Photo © 2009 Fur in Focus Photography

Jane Miller, LISW, IAABC-CDBC & AABP- CDBC, works in private practice as a licensed psychotherapist/clinical social worker, with a particular interest in holistic modalities of healing. She currently focuses on educating others about the legal, ethical, and practical criteria of working with  Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs). Miller has lectured about PSDs in a variety of settings, ranging from The Cleveland Clinic & MetroHealth Medical Centers’ Departments of Psychiatry & Psychology, The International Association of Animal Behavioral Consultants Conference (IAABC), The Cleveland Natural History Museum, The Psychology of Health, Immunity  & Disease Conference (NICABM), The National Association of Social Workers Conference  and many other national and local organizations, schools, and dog-training facilities.

Miller recently was approached by the VA Hospital to present for their Departments of Psychiatry & Psychology Grand Rounds focusing on PSD’s for soldiers returning from combat with PTSD and to speak for the Veteran’s Administrations PTSD Consortium. She appeared in the PBS program “Health Visions – Animals As Healers” on the healing power of animals and joined world-renowned veterinarian/author Dr. Allen Schoen to present a workshop on the topic of animals as healers at a national conference for medical professionals (See NICABM).  She is also a practitioner of QiGong and Reiki and teaches stress reduction techniques to her clients and their service dogs.

Miller earned her BA in psychology and biology from Oberlin College, and her MA in Clinical Social Work from Case Western Reserve University. She has received the Irene Sogg Gross Award for Humanitarian Services and has contributed scholarly essays for professional journals and anthologies in the field of clinical social work. Her professional experience includes serving as a counselor at a battered women’s shelter and at a group home supervisor for the developmentally disabled, and as a research assistant in microbiology/immunology at Temple University Medical School.

Jane Miller’s lifelong passion for healing has emphasized the human-animal connection, culminating in her certification as a Canine Massotherapist and as a Certified Dog Behavioral Consultant by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC-CDBC) and the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals ( AABP-CDBC).