Field report on animal communication: Tanja Bärtschiger - Head of the Dolittle Institute - As a former pharmaceutical assistant, I have extensive knowledge of complementary medicine and 10 years of experience as an animal communicator

Portrait-Foto Tanja Bärtschiger
Tanja Bärtschiger

Tell us about yourself.

I am Tanja Bärtschiger - head of the Dolittle Institute. I originally trained as a pharmaceutical assistant and worked in a pharmacy specializing in homeopathy. I have been an animal communicator for over 10 years and have been working full-time as a freelancer for five years, also as a lecturer for animal communication courses.

What can you tell us about Dolittle?

At the Dolittle Institute we offer various training and further education courses in animal communication as well as seminars on animals, sensitivity / mediumship and complementary medicine. These are courses, one-day seminars and also online seminars. We are a small, highly specialized company in which interpersonal relationships are very important. The Dolittle Institute is EduQua-certified in the field of animal communication so that animal communication can find its well-deserved place in the Swiss professional landscape.

Ausbildung Tierkommunikation

Who would you recommend an animal communication course to?

The annual animal communication course is suitable for all animal lovers and offers not only a varied and solid basis for later independent work, but also a deeper understanding of life, death and its spiritual connections. We not only deal intensively with animals and their behavior, but also with our own personal development in order to be able to work as animal communicators as impartially as possible and to provide the best possible support to animal owners. Many of our graduates tell us at the end of the training that this training was much more for them than "just" training as an animal communicator, which we are naturally very pleased about.

What do students learn on the Animal Communication course?

Students learn to communicate with an animal on a subtle level and to "read" its energy field. It is a contact at eye level, in the same way that animals usually communicate with each other. In particular, thoughts, feelings, emotions and memories can be received as responses from the animal. Of course, the animal can also be told something - e.g. that it should please eat the animal gifts such as mice and birds outside...

Our training is unique in this field and very versatile: in addition to animal communication itself, students learn various techniques for localizing health weaknesses, the special features of dealing with missing animals, challenges in working with the animal owner as well as energetic healing methods, end-of-life care and complementary medical approaches in order to be able to advise the human-animal couple as comprehensively and competently as possible. At the end of the training, the prospective animal communicator has the freedom to decide for themselves which areas they would like to offer and in which they would like to specialize.

Kurs Tierkommunikation

How is the course completed?

In the BVTKS "Holistic Animal Communication & Mediumship" course, students write a dissertation (case studies) at the end and take an examination on the theoretical principles. Upon successful completion, the participant receives a diploma with association recognition and has the opportunity to join our professional association as a recommended member. As with all animal communication training courses, the diploma is not recognized by the state, but shows future clients that you have studied the subject matter intensively, taken a corresponding examination and passed it.

What can graduates do professionally after their further training?

As a rule, you become self-employed as an animal communicator - part-time or full-time. There is still a lot of experience to be gained at the beginning and it takes time to set up your own animal communication practice, which is why many people initially remain employed. Specializations in niche areas or combinations with another animal profession (e.g. animal trainer / animal communicator) naturally offer additional opportunities and are becoming increasingly popular.

Tierkommunikation Ausbildung

What does the annual animal communication course involve?

The annual animal communication course includes the following services:

  • Comprehensive, written documentation for each module for self-download / printout from the virtual training room (over 250 pages of learning material in total)
  • Separate appendices such as exercise sheets, learning objectives & learning checks (self-monitoring), overviews, sample forms for your own practice, etc.
  • Audio files in Swiss German (attunements, meditations for shadow work, journey to power animal & spirit guide,...)
  • 20 days / 120 lessons of 60 minutes each practice-oriented, interactive classroom teaching
    Personal support throughout the course from the lecturers (whatsApp group / email)
    Diploma & association recognition
  • Upon successful completion, you can join the Swiss Animal Communication Association (1st year of membership free of charge)
  • EduQua-certified quality management
Tierkommunikation Unterricht

How does the distance learning course in animal communication work?

Our distance learning course in animal communication is an alternative to face-to-face study. The theoretical content is covered in self-study at home. Here, too, students have personal lecturer support at all times as well as four intensive days at the Dolittle Institute, during which intensive practice and case studies are discussed. This form of study is particularly suitable for people who are too far away or who already have previous knowledge.

Tierkommunikation Kurs

What makes Gipf-Oberfrick an attractive training location for students?

For me, the Gipf-Oberfrick training location is attractive because it is very close to the highway exit. It is also centrally located between Zurich and Basel. It's also well connected by public transport - it's about a 10-minute walk from Frick train station to the Dolittle Institute. This means that our participants come from all over German-speaking Switzerland - for example Aargau, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Zurich, Basel and sometimes even from Germany.

Tierkommunikation lernen

Why should a prospective animal communicator choose Dolittle?

The Dolittle Institute has very high quality standards for the training courses it offers. Particularly in the case of borderline sciences such as animal communication, it is important to choose a training course with quality management in order to be sure that the courses are taught according to the latest findings and are continuously improved. The EduQua certification provides us with a recognized proof of quality. In order to also guarantee quality assurance in terms of content, my life partner and I founded the Professional Association for Animal Communicators (BVTKS), with which we have developed a certification procedure for other animal communication providers and thus created a clearly defined standard for the first time.


Our major goal is to achieve federal recognition for the profession in the long term.

Overview of animal communication training providers