Motivational Methods for Vegan Advocacy ─ A Clinical Psychology Perspective

How can we as animal advocates best help nonhuman animals? This is a question that gets thrown around and debated passionately among those who care deeply about animals. Many fall within different “camps,” claiming that their particular approach is more “effective” despite a lack of any meaningful or peer-reviewed scientific study. Often, claims of effectiveness are not grounded in any particular theory of behavioral change and may actually run counter to the clinical and scientific literatures about how change occurs for other behaviors. Motivational Methods for Vegan Advocacy applies principles and methods from the field of clinical psychology to enhance the potential impact of the animal advocacy efforts of individuals and groups. This work is based on the premise that animal advocates are the change-makers and will help determine whether this movement succeeds or fails. Fortunately, there are tried and tested models and strategies that have been shown to help create true, internal, long-standing behavioral change for a range of problem behaviors that include unnecessary violence. Taft discusses these methods and illustrates how they can best be applied in preventing the needless harm inflicted upon animals.

Dr. Casey Taft is a Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. He is an internationally recognized researcher in the area of violence prevention and winner of prestigious awards for his work from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies; the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has developed the only domestic violence prevention programs demonstrated effective for military populations via randomized controlled trials and has been assisting in implementing them across the Veterans Health Administration system and within the Department of Defense. He has consulted with the United Nations on preventing violence and abuse globally; has published over one hundred journal articles, book chapters, and scientific reports; and is the author of the upcoming American Psychological Association book Trauma-Informed Treatment and Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence. He is also co-owner of Vegan Publishers, a vegan-themed publishing house, and sees the prevention of violence towards nonhuman animals as a natural extension of his interpersonal violence work.