Today we’d like to introduce you to Aviva Vincent.
Aviva, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
While I am happy to share “my story” I don’t believe I have just one. Like most people, many different paths, people, and opportunities converged to get me to where I am today. Identity wise, I am a queer, Jewish, mother, cis-woman, native of the northeast – living in Ohio, connected to animals (dogs and horses in particular), reader of all things, and curious human. Professionally, I am an assistant professor of social work at Cleveland State University and co-founder & owner of the veterinary social work practice, Healing Paws LLC. There isn’t a singular starting point, but rather many points along the way. There was childhood, where horses and dogs were a source of love and connection. I benefited from animals in the same way I teach about their potential benefit in the classroom today. As a teenager, I was introduced to Equine Assisted Services. I had a mentor who knew of my love and sense of purpose around horses, so she introduced me to High Hopes therapeutic riding center in Connecticut. I volunteered and interned with them for many years. During this time, I fought against the constant assertion that I “should” become a social worker. Many people interpreted my life circumstances and resilience as cause to become a clinician. Instead, I worked several jobs that were interesting but lacked personal connection (likely, intentionally). In 2009, I gave up the stubbornness and began my social work career through the MSW program at UConn in community organizing and continued on to get my PhD in social welfare through Case Western Reserve University. In 2016, I started my education to become a Veterinary Social Worker with University of Tennessee Knoxville (where I continued to teach with them post-graduation/completion), and took my certification to be a therapeutic riding instructor, and the following years to get credentialed in equine specialist mental health and learning. And, in 2021, I started with the HERD Institute to complete their equine facilitated therapy certification. I used my experience to help found the International Association of Veterinary Social Work – an interdisciplinary, membership organization for veterinary social work and aligned professionals. Currently in addition to my professional roles, I am on the board of trustees of PATH Intl, volunteer with Canine Companions, and spend as much time in nature as possible.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While sounding like a seamless path, it was anything but. I found the academic community to be very reluctant to accept human-animal interaction (HAI) – let alone equine methods specifically – as being “worthy” of research. As with any journey, I had to make decisions to take up opportunities and to let some go – for example, I stayed in a doctoral program that did not fully embrace veterinary social work (yet) instead of transferring into a supportive program because of family needs. However, I am proud to be a part of the research community that has argued and demonstrated that HAI is a vital aspect of social work practice, research, and advocacy. I came into this work because I felt the only way to have a career that was meaningful meant bringing my whole self into my role. I am passionate about what I do because I lived it. And, I am committed to mentorship and teaching in this field to pave the way for others to continue the journey.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a veterinary social worker, my main role is as an educator. As a queer woman in academia, I balance the risk of living as a marginalized person who also has the privilege of passing, thus I am consistently thinking about how I can leverage my privilege to support my communities and those I work/live within.
I teach formally at Cleveland State University where I teach social welfare policy, advanced generalist social work practice, and veterinary social work (coordinate the certificate program. I am fortunate to work on campus with my therapy dog, Heddy. I also facilitate community learning through Healing Paws LLC, national conferences, and small group consultation. Most of my teaching is about animal-assisted interventions, program design and evaluation, emotional resilience of teams, and equine facilitated therapy.
My research spans several areas of veterinary social work including therapy dogs on campus, music therapy in adaptive riding, and helmet accessibility in equine assisted services. I work with an amazing research team on a body of work that explicitly looks at factors of DEI and the implications on how professionals choose trainings and professional growth plans.
Recently, I have shifted into research about the Link between interpersonal violence and animal abuse – specifically what mental health clinicians need to know to help protect families and pets in the state. The research specifically explores policy implications on how mental health practitioners practice in the state. While this is perceived as “hard work”, this area is something I can handle the way other people work in palliative care or other “hard” areas. I am most proud of creating brave and creative learning environment for students (of all ages) to engage in conversation. I love being an educator and researcher – bridging these modalities with the topics I specialize in keeps my work novel and meaningful. Though not exhaustive, these are the highlights of my work, today…with the aspiration and intention of consistency learning, growing, and expanding.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Book
– The Comprehensive Guide to Interdisciplinary Veterinary Social Work: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-10330-8
Podcast:
– Human Animal Interaction: https://www.human-animal-interaction.org/podcasts/
Favorite reads:
– Falling Back in Love with Being Human (poetry)
– My Grandmother’s Hands
– The Sum of Us
– The Color of Law
– What doesn’t Kill You: A life with chronic illness
– Hyperbole and a Half (humor)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://academic.csuohio.edu/vincent-aviva/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aviva-vincent-16b50725/
