In episode 67, Marissa Martino interviews Karin Pienaar, of the The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE). During the episode, Marissa asks Karin about her new book, Mood Matters: MHERA: An Innovative Assessment Approach to Animal Emotionality in the Treatment of Behaviour Problems. Karin defines emotions and the 7 emotional systems. Karin shares her framework, MHERA, which is an acronym that stands for: Mood State, Hedonic Budget, Emotional, and Reinforcement Assessments.  

Karin has been working in the field of animal behavior therapy since 1997 and completed her Diploma in Animal Behaviour in the UK with The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE). 

After more than 20 years of consulting with dog and cat owners, Karin now focuses mainly on managing  The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE) International, presenting the COAPE Diplomas and MHERATM Practitioners course, as well as lecturing and mentoring students. 

She heads the Enrichment Partnership Program between COAPE International and several captive wildlife facilities, where she and her team develop enrichment programs to promote the behavioral and emotional health of animals, as well as implement consent-based training to facilitate stress-free husbandry and medical procedures in captive wildlife.