Emotional Support Animals
Emotional support and service animals are not considered "pets," but rather assistive aids. Under the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (§ 504), peoples with disabilities have the right to keep ESAs as assistive aids. Effective in 2020, ESAs are no longer considered on par with services animals for airline travel, and thus no longer allowed in the cabin of planes.
A letter from a mental health professional denotes the ESA status as an assistive aid. Courts have ruled that a letter from a mental health professional explaining the need for an ESA is sufficient.
There is no central registry or required materials (i.e. vest, tag…) needed for the dog or person. Healing Paws LLC, and all professionals involved personally and professionally do not support the use of websites nor businesses that sell ESA certificates without assessment or via one-time phone/email/in-person assessment. These platforms are unethical and exploitative.
Clients:
To receive an ESA letter, one must have an ongoing relationship with a therapist who is trained in the benefits and considerations within your state of residence for six months or more. To find a provider, we recommend using search options such as Psychology Today, health insurance websites, yelp, and other community resources to locate a mental health practitioner.
Questions to ask a practitioner located in your state:
- What is your training of the human-animal bond?
- When necessary, do you write letters for ESAs?
- Do you welcome pets in your practice? (optional)
Consideration: carrying a letter requires sharing your reasoning (i.e. diagnosis) publicly
If you need assistance finding a mental health practitioner in your area, please send us a message and we will help you connect.
Practitioners:
NASW-Ohio established a statement “Guidance Regarding Letters of Support for Emotional Support and Service Animals“ on September 19, 2019
“The Board recognizes that ESAs can when used appropriately, be an important part of ensuring the mental and emotional health of certain persons; service animals are also an important part of ensuring the health and independence of many persons with disabilities or mental and emotional disorders… CSWMFT Board licensees should not provide letters of support for ESAs or service animals unless they have education, training, and experience in assessing clients to determine the need for an ESA or service animal. Such training and experience should include understanding the needs of the human client as well as the needs and capacity of the proposed ESA or service animal.”
Best practice includes:
Must have an ongoing relationship with a therapist within their state of residence for six months or more.
Must be able to confirm that the client requires an emotional support animal to alleviate symptoms of their diagnosis.
To learn, ask questions, and connect:
Hoy-Gerlach, J., Vincent, A., & Hector, B. L. (2019). Emotional Support Animals in the United States: Emergent Guidelines for Mental Health Clinicians. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, 6(2), 199-208.
Join the Facebook group
Join continuing education opportunities as they come available:
Join the monthly Human-Animal Interaction Workgroup: An informal networking group for social workers with an interest in human-animal interaction as it relates to social work practice.
Schedule Healing Paws team to talk with your team to train and support ESA considerations
If you are seeking learning opportunities or would like individualized consultation on specific clients or practices (i.e. engaging in writing ESA letters), please connect with us.