Web Version of my Presentation for NAMI
 (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
12/11/24
page 5

Part 7
Emotional Support Animals
Emotional Support Animals: How to Get One, Mental Health Benefits
 (https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-an-emotional-support-animal-4171479)

I highlighted items I wanted to emphasize during my talk, and I left those parts highlighted in this web version of my notes.
 Stories of my therapy dog visits, and some quotes, are italicized.

Two days after I did the presentation, I took Pascha to my vet for her health exam, required as part of the therapy dog certification process.  I mentioned that I had done this presentation and my vet immediately said, forcefully, that she was NOT impressed with the ESAs that she had seen.  She said they were ill mannered and tried to bit her.  I assured her that I said the same thing in my presentation – that a lot of “ESAs” are actually just people’s pets and they claim that they ARE ESAs in order to have them in a rental or travel free on airlines.  They have no prescription of need for an ESA from a mental health professional, but selfishly seize the chance to get what they want.  Those cheaters make it hard for authentic service dogs and emotional service animals to do their work and go where they lawfully should because business owners and airline personnel have had their own awful encounters with spoiled pets masquerading as animals with a mission.

Emotional support animals provide companionship aimed at alleviating distress or provide some other type of relief. 

ESA’S are medically-prescribed animals that provide emotional support to people with mental health concerns. THEY ARE NOT TRAINED TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC SERVICE TO THEIR HANDLERS, BUT DO PROVIDE COMFORT THROUGH THEIR PRESENCE.  These animal companions are known as emotional support animals (ESAs), and they have been growing in popularity in recent years.

It is important to note that emotional support animals and psychiatric service animals are not the same things. Where an emotional support animal may provide benefits to people with mental illness, psychiatric service animals are specially trained to perform specific tasks for people with psychiatric conditions. This might include reminding the individual to take their medications or stop someone from engaging in self-harm.  The service dog may lie across the handler to provide deep pressure therapy during panic attacks, provide tactile grounding through nuzzling or licking, apply gentle tooth pressure to a person’s forearm to interrupt a dissociative episode and/or alert the handler to episodes of rage or strong emotion.

“Little empirical data exists to support the conclusion that ESAs are effective in mitigating psychological disorders and related problems, and empirical research that does exist is inconsistent, sparse and emerging,” suggested psychologists Jeffrey Younggren and his colleagues in an article published by the American Psychological Association in 2016.5

ESAs

• Provide companionship and emotional support to individuals with disabilities
• Do not require specialized training
• Covered under the Federal Fair Housing Act
• They have NO legal rights.  (Do not believe online “ESA registries” that claim otherwise.  Do not believe when they say ESA registration & certification is required either.)
• Are not permitted in “No Pets” public places such as restaurants.  While the Americans With Disabilities Act allows people to legally bring their service animals into public areas, emotional support animals are not covered by the law.6 Emotional support animals do not meet the definition of a service animal under the law, which requires that service animals be specifically trained to perform tasks to help the individual with the disability. Because of this, business and public spaces can deny the admission of emotional support animals.
• Are allowed to fly with owners in cabins with certain conditions.  Airlines, other businesses, and federal regulators are now considering additional rules regarding the use of ESAs, including:  Limiting the number of species that may be allowed to be used as support animals; requiring owners to submit documentation in advance as to their use of an emotional support animal; stating that the animal is housebroken and safe to be around other people
• Are allowed in rentals.  However, tenants are financially responsible if their animal causes any type of damage to persons or property.

What to Know About the Laws Regarding Emotional Support Animals

Under the Federal Fair Housing Act, housing providers are required to make reasonable accommodations to allow individuals with disabilities to keep an assistant animal in their home.7 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires housing providers to make exceptions to “no pets” policies. 

HUD does not specify which disabilities qualify an individual for an exception. Rather, they state that the functions of an ESA include “providing emotional support to persons with disabilities who have a disability-related need for such support.”7

An exception usually requires a verification letter from a mental health professional stating the individual’s needs for an emotional support animal. Landlords may also require that people requesting accommodation also submit a verification form completed by a physician or therapist that confirms the disability.

The two conditions required for such an exception:

• The individual living with the animal must have some type of disability that significantly limits one or more major life activities.
• The animal must provide some type of relief or assistance related to these identified disabilities.

Some examples of disabilities include:
Anxiety Disorders & Depression
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Motor Skills Disorder
Learning Disabilities
Phobias

The Fair Housing Act

Under the FHA, landlords cannot legally:8

• Require tenants to pay additional fees for ESAs
• Ask for information on the extent of the person’s disability or request detailed medical records
• Refuse to accommodate an emotional support animal
• Require that the animal receive specific training

Some Mental Health Experts Don’t Agree with the Use of Emotional Support Animals

While there is some evidence pointing to the value of emotional support animals, not everyone agrees that they are always necessary. Some mental health experts have suggested that support animals may be overused.4

The number of emotional support animals appears to be growing every year. United Airlines, one of the largest airline carriers in the US, reported a 75% increase in the number of emotional support animals flying on the airline between the years 2016 and 2017.

One study published in PLOS ONE found that the number of emotional support animals found in the state of California had increased 10-fold between 2002 and 2012.9

The increased demand for ESA’s sometimes places therapists in a bind as well. More and more, patients request letters of documentation supporting their need for an emotional support animal from their psychologist, therapist, or doctor.

Why are so many people interested in having a support companion? Many experts attribute it to the fact that the law allows these individuals with disabilities to bring an emotional support animal on a plane at no additional cost.5 Normally, airlines require people to pay an extra fee to bring their pets on a flight, but with a letter stating that they need an emotional support animal, people can avoid this fee.

The Air Carrier Access act suggests that a wide variety of animals may be permitted to board flights as emotional support animals, although airlines are able to use their discretion in cases where animals are too heavy, large, or disrupting as well as those prohibited in other countries.10

The problem is that the law is vague in defining exactly who needs an ESA. This has led to many people attempting to obtain letters supporting their need for an emotional support animal in order to travel with their pet without having to pay to bring the animal on board the flight.

People also occasionally obtain letters from physicians and psychologists in order to justify keeping an animal in their rental home or apartment. Because the Fair Housing Act requires landlords to allow renters to keep emotional support animals in their residence, tenants may sometimes have their pet designated as an emotional support animal to keep their pets in their homes.

Ethical Considerations

The vagueness of the law creates a quandary for many psychologists and therapists. Do they write a letter for a patient who may not truly have the need, or do they deny the request and risk losing the patient?

Some patients may become angry if a therapist or doctor denies their request for a documentation letter. This creates an ethical problem for therapists. Should they write a letter in order to ensure that a patient stays in treatment, even if they do not feel that a support animal is necessary?

Many experts believe that additional guidelines are needed to help psychologists, therapists, and physicians determine who needs emotional support animals.4

In the absence of such guidelines, a number of online businesses have emerged that promise to deliver a diagnosis and provide an ESA documentation letter. Many of these sites promise to provide a diagnosis and letter of documentation in under 24 hours for less than $100.

This type of abuse of the law has led to many airlines requiring that an ESA documentation letter be submitted in advance of the flight along with the name and contact information of the mental health professional who provided the diagnosis.

For example, in June 2018, JetBlue announced that it would require passengers to submit additional proof that their emotional support animals were needed and properly trained. Representatives for the airline attributed the new rules to “dramatic increase in industry incidents involving emotional support animals that haven’t been adequately trained to behave in a busy airport or the confined space of an aircraft.”11

These rules include only accepting dogs, cats, and miniature horses as support animals and only allowing one animal per customer. Passengers are also required to submit a medical form completed by their care provider, a veterinary health form, and an animal behavior form. 

Requirements vary from one airline to another, so passengers should check carefully to see what forms and documentation they may need to provide before boarding with their emotional support animal.

Some state or local governments have laws that allow people to take emotional support animals into public places.  You may check with your state and local government agencies to find out about these laws.

Eligibility

Emotional support animals may be helpful to those with certain mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety.

If you feel that a support animal may help relieve your symptoms, talk to your doctor or therapist about some of the possible benefits and risks.

Having a pet requires an investment of time and effort, so it is important to be sure that you are prepared for the commitment and capable of caring for the animal. It may be helpful to talk about what you hope to gain from having an emotional support animal and discuss which type of animal might be right for your needs.

An ESA can provide support and comfort that some individuals may need to cope with their disorder or disability. Obtaining an ESA documentation letter to avoid paying extra for your pet ultimately hurts the legitimacy of the many patients who have a real need for a support animal.

If you feel you have a legitimate need for an emotional support animal, talk to the doctor or therapist who is currently treating you. Don’t buy a letter from a scammy online site that promises a dubious certification document to anyone willing to pay their fee.

More references:

The Department of Justice/HUD’s FairHousing Act does allow ESAs to live in residences with “no pets” policies. This is considered a “reasonable accommodation.”

Additionally, the Department of Transportation’s Air Carrier Access Act allows ESA’s to accompany their handlers in the passenger cabins of airplanes. In both of these cases, documentation must be provided by a mental health professional stating the need for the service animal. This cannot be done by a veterinarian or a dog trainer.

Due to the vast number of individuals fraudulently claiming their pets are ESAs or psychiatric service dogs, many legitimate service dog handlers complain that their rights are being eroded. Service dog fraud is not a victimless crime, and it is vital that we respect the rights of working animals and their handlers.

back to page 1 (Parts 1-2, Loneliness discussed by 2 health experts)
 back to page 2 (Parts 3-5, general ways that animals improve people’s lives)
 back to page 3 (Part 6: Therapy Dogs, including Dr. Lynch’s research about the health damages of toxic talk and school failure in a child’s life)
back to page 4 (Part 7, Service Dogs)