The Bonita Woods Wellness Institute is co-hosting a workshop with The Arc of Northern Virginia on how to train an emotional support service dog on Thursday, Nov. 5 from noon – 1 p.m. at The Arc of Northern Virginia’s office, located at 2755 Hartland Road, Falls Church. Attendees of the event can learn how to train a dog to provide emotional support and get their dog certified as a service dog.

“Emotional support service dogs are the easiest to train and provide valuable aid to people on the autism spectrum or people with down’s syndrome, asperger’s, chronic depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, tourette’s, agoraphobia and any diagnosed emotional or behavioral distress,” Bonita Woods, founder of the local wellness institute, said in an email to the News-Press.

“Family involvement with service dog training is very therapeutic and helps to strengthen comfort with communication skills.” There is no charge for the event, but RSVP is requested. For more information or to RSVP, call 703-208-1119 or visit thearcofnova.org/programs/workshops-conferences.