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The Role of Service Animals in Counseling and Psychology

11/24/2017

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As health care professions increasingly recognize the significance of human animal bond, opportunities arise for multidisciplinary research into the topic of how service animals also referred to as companion or emotional support animals may affect human health. In this article, a brief overview will be made on the role that service animals may play in human psychological treatment. This article dig deeper into the inexorable link between animals and humans. To get started, it is essential to know what is service animal? Service animals are any animal that provide emotional or psychological healing to individuals with disability. Service animals serve the purpose of healing a lot many kinds of psychological disability concerns within individuals. They make a very positive impact on the psychological condition of the individuals. Service animals can cure a lot many psychological disability concerns including, physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
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Today, the health care professions have recognized ‘pet therapy’ as a very effective method of curing a patient with any particular psychological disability. This ‘pet therapy’ is basically the emotional and psychological assistance provided by the service animals to individuals with disability. As per the recent medical studies, great number of psychological patients has been brought back to normal mental health condition with the health care assistance provided with the help of ‘pet therapy’. Pet therapy can be applicable to those who love to be around their favorite animals or pets. Since, the first and foremost aim of any psychological treatment is to provide mental or psychological comfort to the patient, the doctors make effective use of this bond of mutual love, care, and companionship in alleviating the mental discomforts of the patient.

It is been widely noticed that a patient of a particular psychological illness responds more positively when his/her pet is around him/her than when he/she is surrounded by his/her family members or near ones. The doctors or psychologists immediately come to the conclusion that the person is in need of an animal assisted therapy. Special preparations are made for the patient so that the animal can always be in close proximity to its emotionally disturbed owner. The syndromes for which the medial psychotherapists suggest or recommend the assistance of service animals or emotional support animals to individuals with disability are anxiety, bipolar disorder, cognitive decline, social phobia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and many more.

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Service Animal Letters - Explanation Defining Its Use and Benefits

There are several places, where the entry of animals is strictly prohibited. In such places, it becomes difficult for an individual with disability to carry his/her service animal with him. Here is when the service animal letters become significant. So, what are service animal letters? Service animal letters are used for emotional support animals and they serve as the only legal source of protection for your pet as an emotional support animal and also allows for service animal travels on planes, trains, taxis, etc. Simply getting your pet registered in a database, getting a service vest, or ID just helps identify your service animal but it provides no legal support.

Getting a service animal letter from a doctor is critical to ensure federal protection for housing, service animal travel, and recognition in the law. Most anyone can qualify to get a service animal letter as the main prerequisite is getting comfort from the animal. This can include people that suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, cognitive decline, and many more. Unlike service dogs that assist with the blind or specific physical ailments, service animals or emotional support animals can be prescribed for a wide variety of psychological conditions. Any animal can also qualify for a service animal letter whether it is dog, bird, cat, or even squirrel. There are no federal limitations on which species can qualify as an ESA. There are many benefits to getting your pet an ESA letter as outlined below:
  • No pet housing facilities
  • No pet deposit can be charged for a service animal
  • Free service animal travel for ESA’s
  • No limitations on the size of an emotional support animal, for instance, some rental properties limit the size of dogs
  • Service animal travel within the cabin of an airplane, instead of storage below in a travel crate
  • Free access to cruise ships, taxis, trains, etc
 
If you want to travel having the service animals or emotional support animals accompanied with you, then consider carrying a service animal letter with you, essentially.

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The Ultimate Guide Explaining the Importance of Emotional Support Animals and ESA Letters

11/13/2017

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In the recent, a wide number of people are seen suffering from some or the other kind of mental or psychological disabilities. Some of the commonest types of metal or psychological troubles people suffer from are anxiety, depression, loneliness, social phobia, cognitive decline, stress-related issues, and many more. Dealing with these issues naturally is very important to get an effective cure.

To cure many of these above-mentioned mental and psychological disabilities, psychotherapists often use the tactic of pet therapy. ‘Pet therapy is a method of curing the emotional, psychological, or mental disabilities of individuals with the help of animals’. Often these animals are termed or referred as ‘emotional support animals’.
An emotional support animal can help you with many different types of emotional and mental challenges. If you notice, you can found that the patients of a particular psychological illness respond more positively when his/her pet is around him/her than when he/she is surrounded by his/her family members or near ones. Noticing this fact, the psychologist has concluded that animals impact human brain, mind, and emotions distinctively. They can effectively help deal with many kinds of emotional or psychological disabilities.
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To obtain a brief insight about the importance of emotional support animal and ESA letter, below a brief overview is provided.

What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
An emotional support animal or ESA is any animal that helps someone with psychiatric or mental issues to lead a more fulfilling and normal life. While these animals do not need any specific training, they are much more than pets. These animals provide you with therapeutic advantages based on companionship. While dogs and cats are the most common types of emotional support animal, any species that can be kept as a pet can be an emotional support animal.

What Rights Does the Emotional Support Animal Poses?
Emotional support animals are not service animals. They provide natural healing through love, care, companionship and are not trained in any manner. Most of the times, regardless the way emotional support animals serve you, they are not allowed in every public place.  However, landlords must make reasonable accommodations to allow you to have an emotional support animal. Reasonable accommodation means that your request can be denied if it places an undue financial burden on the housing provider, or if it is determined to be dangerous. This can also include that if your animal is making it impossible for others to live there, you can be asked to leave.

Here is when the importance of the ESA letter comes in. The ESA letters are the only source of legal identity for the emotional support animals and are the only means of proof with the help of which one can easily carry his/her emotional support animal everywhere they go. In practical terms the ESA letter secures the rights of the emotional support animals. Laws also allow emotional support animals to fly in the cabin with their owners in most cases.

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Who Qualifies for an Emotional Support Animal?

Individuals with genuine or proven medical psychological or mental illness qualify for an emotional support animal. This includes PTSD, anxiety disorder, phobias, autism, and depression. If you have a mental or psychiatric disability, you can qualify for an emotional support animal. Also the ESA letter is provided to individuals, who have medically proven psychological and mental disabilities.


An emotional support animal can only be prescribed by a licensed medical or psychiatric professional.

What Documentation Is needed for an Emotional Support Animal?

In this section of the article, the importance and need of ESA letters will be elaborated in brief.


You will require proper documentation to have your animal classified as an emotional support animal. If you intend to travel with your animal, you will require an ESA letter. You can obtain an ESA letter from your doctor or a mental health professional. Your physician will determine, if you have a legitimate requirement for an emotional support animal and if your animal helps alleviate your condition.

Your ESA letter requires to be on a letterhead or RX paper and while it needs to specify that you need an emotional support animal as a treatment for your psychological or emotional disability. The disability does not need to be identified on the letter because of HIPPA rights.

If you have specific questions or feel like you have been unjustly denied your housing for your need of an emotional support animal, contact your nearest housing and urban development (HUD) office.

Emotional support animals are shown to lower stress levels and help to alleviate the symptoms of mental and psychiatric conditions.

You have the right to a happy an independent life, and an emotional support animal can help you achieve it!!
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While our psychologists do help patients directly, this website does not provide medical advice and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For an accurate diagnosis of a mental health disorder, you should seek an evaluation from a qualified mental health professional. If you feel you're experiencing a potentially life-threatening problem, please call 911 or the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255).

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