Katherine Compitus

Katherine Compitus, D.S.W., is a clinical assistant professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work, where she is currently the chair of the Practice Area curriculum. She is a Colombian-American doctor of clinical social work, licensed bilingual clinical social worker, biopsychologist, and Certified Animal-Assisted Intervention Professional (C-AAIP). Her research focuses on the human-animal bond with regard to multiple aspects of society, including social policy, mental health services, crisis intervention, and the social determinants of health. Dr. Compitus is the author of The Human-Animal Bond, Clinical Social Work Practice (Springer, 2021), and Animal House: A Clinician's Guide to Animal Hoarding (Oxford, 2024).

Dr. Compitus is trained in multiple modalities including psychodynamic psychotherapy, CBT, and DBT and is a Certified Hypnotherapist and Certified Family Trauma Therapist. Dr. Compitus is the founder and chairman of Surrey Hills Sanctuary, a non-profit organization providing veterinary social work services in New York State. She designed and teaches the Human-Animal Bond course at NYU's Silver School of Social Work where she is also the director of the post-masters certificate program in Animal-Assisted Interventions.