My name is Elizabeth (Lisa) Russell, and I am from England. Before moving to France in 2012, I worked as a Behaviour Specialist in a Psychology and Behavioural Support Team, supporting adult clients with intellectual disabilities and complex behavioral challenges. Today, I use this expertise to help dogs and their owners foster stronger, more harmonious relationships.
My role involved functionally analysing when and why certain behaviours occurred, and just as importantly, when and why they didn’t occur. The goal was to understand what the person was trying to say through their behaviour – all behaviour has meaning, and almost always occurs in a social context! Following analysis, possible solutions were suggested and implemented, working collaboratively with the clients themselves, their families, staff, and other professionals. I also trained staff and professionals, and had work published as part of this role.
After moving to France, I transitioned to working in schools and then privately in clients’ homes, supporting children with special needs. I provided one-on-one basic educational support, aiming to reduce behaviours that interfered with learning.
During this time, I pursued studies to transfer my skills to working with dogs, a lifelong passion of mine. My goal as a canine behavior specialist was to apply my behavioural expertise to help dogs and their owners enjoy a harmonious relationship.
Animal Jobs Direct. November 2023
Animal Jobs Direct. August 2016
The Tizard Centre, University of Kent, Canterbury, England. September 2002 to 2004
In S Hardy and T Joyce (Eds): Challenging Behaviour: A training pack to develop good practice in working with people with learning disabilities whose behaviour is described as challenging.
In S Hardy and T Joyce (Eds): Challenging Behaviour: A Handbook. Brighton, Pavilion Publishing