Looking for a Psychiatric Service Dog Letter?
Learn more about PSDs and how they can help you.
It’s been estimated that 1 in 4 Americans currently live with a mental health illness. Some of the more well-known mental health illnesses include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and phobias such as social phobia or agoraphobia (the fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment).
Mental health illnesses such as those above account for many of the top causes of disability in the United States. Individuals who live with a mental health illness will often work with a licensed mental health professional to develop a treatment plan that best suits their needs.
As mental health illnesses are becoming more and more recognized, supported, and understood, those who live with them are increasingly turning to healthy, natural alternatives when developing their treatment plans. This includes the use of assistance animals such as psychiatric service dogs.
What is a Psychiatric Service Dog?
A Psychriatric Service Dog (PSD) is a type of assistance animal that’s trained to perform specific tasks for individuals living with a mental illness. These unique tasks are directly related to the handler’s disability.
Most of us are accustomed to seeing guide dogs supporting those with physical disabilities like a hearing or sight impairment. However, a psychiatric service dog helps people with typically unseen, unnoticeable disabilities.
For example, veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who experience panic attacks or similar challenges can benefit greatly from the service of a PSD. Those who live with social phobia or other anxiety disorders can also find the service of a PSD to be incredibly beneficial.
What Conditions Can a Psychiatric Service Dog Help With?
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Depression
- Social Phobias
- Schizophrenia
- Agoraphobia
- Claustrophobia
- Panic Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders
- Bipolar Disorders
- Autism
What are Psychiatric Service Dogs Trained to Do?
Psychiatric service dogs assist their owners by performing special tasks that can help alleviate the individual’s anxiety, depression, phobia, etc. These tasks will be specific to the PSD’s owner and will typically be something that the person cannot do themselves.
Assistance from psychiatric service dogs can be physical, or it can require the dog to use their natural senses. Either way, a trained PSD will typically serve as a buffer in certain situations and read signals from their handler to help them in whatever way is needed.
Here are just some of the many ways that a PSD can help their owner:
1. Ease Claustrophobia
In crowded and claustrophobic situations, a PSD can act as a non-protective buffer to provide their human with some needed space. The dog can increase the personal bubble by standing between their handler and other people so that their owner is at ease and comfortable.
A PSD will recognize the physical stress signs in their handler or read their handler’s signals and know to immediately lead their human to a spacious area.
2. Assess Any Threats
Approaching a space that should be empty can be a trigger for someone with PTSD, just as turning a corner can sometimes cause anxiety.
These simple life activities are trying for someone with PTSD or similar anxiety disorders. Having a dog enter a space and carry out a room search can be incredibly calming for such an individual.
3. Therapeutic and Tactile Distraction
Tactile stimulation and pressure therapy can help ground a person and offer a therapeutic distraction from anxiety, depression, or a pending panic attack from PTSD.
Dogs can be trained to place pressure on their handler’s chest or lap to encourage emotional regulation and bring calm to a situation.
4. Medical Assistance or Reminder
A psychiatric service dog can remind their handler when it’s time for medication and continue to pester them until they take their drugs.
If an individual cannot retrieve the medication due to nausea or lethargy, they can train their dog to fetch it for them, along with a bottle of water.
5. Balance Assistance
Prescribed medication for some mental health disorders may result in side effects such as lethargy, lameness, and confusion. This can make it challenging for an individual to walk without balance assistance.
A psychiatric service dog can move their handler to a safe space or support them with a harness in these situations.
6. Night Terror Alert
Service animals can wake their handlers during a night terror and provide a distraction from a harrowing flashback.
By reorientating their handler, the PSD can assist in lifting them out of a terrifying episode.
7. Retrieve Help
Individuals who suffer from certain psychiatric disabilities can find themselves in situations where crippling fears and escalating symptoms could necessitate medical assistance.
This is sometimes seen in those with PTSD or anxiety disorders. Service dog handlers can signal to their service dog that they need to fetch help.
8. Relief from Sensory Overload or Stress
Some situations may prove to be stressful or overwhelming for people with certain mental health conditions. To avoid explanation or awkward departures, these individuals can signal to their psychiatric service dog to tug at their leg, as if signaling for a toilet break.
This task may seem simple, but by avoiding the emotional buildup and social claustrophobia, the individual can regain emotional control.
9. Companionship
While PSDs are trained to perform specific tasks, this does not take away from the fact that they are animals that display loyalty, love, and companionship for their handlers.
Endless studies share the many ways that dogs benefit our health, from an increased zest for life to even reduced blood pressure.
10. Selective Solitude or Reclusiveness
Psychiatric service dogs can encourage an individual to leave home and engage with people when they would usually opt for solitude.
A psychiatric service dog encourages ventures into the outdoors while also providing support for their owner when they get out of their comfort zone.
Dogs can also facilitate social interactions while also putting their person at ease if such social situations become too stressful.
Federally Protected Rights for Psychiatric Service Dogs
Those with service dogs rely on their animal to support them in various situations. The dog cannot perform his job, however, if he’s left at home or tied up outside a store. Service dogs are therefore permitted public access to places where pets or emotional support animals are normally not allowed. Federal laws protect and support psychiatric service dogs in the following ways:
1. Public Access Rights
The ADA gives disabled persons the right to be accompanied by a service animal in public spaces. Service dogs must be well behaved, stay on the floor or in a harness, and cannot override public health rules (such as entering a public swimming pool).
Service animal handlers should be aware that religious institutions are exempt from the ADA and are not required to permit access to service dogs. Your state may have specific laws that apply in this case.
2. Travel Privileges
The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) of 1986 prohibits refusal and discrimination towards individuals based on their disability and their need for a service animal to accompany them. The ACAA allows disabled owners to take their service animal onboard a flight, in the cabin, without paying extra fees.
For those who intend on traveling with their PSD, it’s important to note that the Department of Transportation (DOT) permits airlines the right to ask PSD owners to submit a certification form before departure.
The form requires the individual to provide certain certifications, including proof that their PSD has been trained to assist with a disability and is capable of good behavior on a flight.
3. Fair Housing
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) protects people with disabilities (mental or physical) from discrimination when it comes to accommodation.
4. Educational Facility Access
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) allows students to bring service dogs such as psychiatric services dogs into places of education.
The Department of Justice has guidelines and rules, but they are not clear-cut, and individual cases need to be discussed depending on your state and school.
Verifying a Psychiatric Service Dog
The symptoms of mental health illnesses are not always visible to others. As such, it’s not uncommon to expect a request for verification, especially when entering a place with a “no dogs” rule.
According to the ADA, the staff of an establishment can legally ask the following questions:
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
No one has the right to ask you to identify your specific disability or ask that your pet demonstrate their skill.
As previously mentioned, the DOT gives airlines the right to also request further certifications when flying with your pet. Make sure you follow all requirements and provide these certifications beforehand, as to allow for more stress-free travel.
While not a requirement, it can also be helpful to fit your animal with a service dog vest, service dog harness, or service dog ID.
Emotional Support Animals vs. Psychiatric Service Dogs: What’s the Difference?
Over the centuries, dogs have performed many jobs to assist their human companions. As a result, there are many types of assistance animals in today’s society.
Here are the four main types of assistance animals and what their job typically encompasses.
A Service Dog receives extensive training to help individuals with tasks or activities that their disability limits or prevents them from doing on their own. Under the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs can accompany their owners in a wide range of public areas because of the tasks they do. One of the most common types of service dogs is a seeing-eye dog for the visually impaired.
Emotional Support Animals are companion animals whose presence can help alleviate symptoms of mental illness. Dogs and cats are the most common types of ESAs and require no formal training to be recognized as assistance animals. However, ESAs don’t have the same federally protected rights as trained service dogs and may not always be able to accompany their owners in public places or on planes, based on the guidelines that the specific establishment or airline has in place.
A Psychiatric Service Dog also receives specialized training in order to perform certain tasks for an individual, the only difference being that a PSD usually helps those with unseen, unnoticeable disabilities (anxiety, panic, post-traumatic stress, depression). Just like other service dogs, PSDs have public access rights and certain travel and housing privileges.
Therapy Dogs can often be found in hospitals or nursing homes. The presence of a therapy dog can bring comfort, social interaction, reduced stress, and joy into patients’ or residents’ lives. Therapy dogs usually undergo specialized training in order to work in these special settings. Another type of therapy dog is a ‘Comfort Dog,’ which visits disaster areas or areas of crisis to calm victims and bring them comfort.
How to Get a Psychiatric Service Dog
The first step in getting a psychiatric service dog is to speak with a licensed mental health professional (LMHP).
If your LMHP agrees with you that a PSA would be a beneficial addition to your treatment plan, they will write a letter of recommendation that confirms your need for a psychiatric service dog.
Once you have this letter of recommendation from your LMHP, you can move forward to the next step in the process: finding your new assistance animal.
The dog can be already a part of your family or it can be one that you adopt. There are no requirements when it comes to breeding type, which allows individuals more leeway when it comes to adopting an animal from a rescue group or a local animal shelter.
Individuals can also request a service dog from a specialized service dog organization, although there are usually steep fees involved with this option. The average cost of a service dog for those who opt to go this route is $15,000-$30,000 upfront.
An animal from a service dog organization will have already received the full range of training required for the animal to perform the tasks you require.
If you decide to use a dog you already own or plan to adopt, you’ll need to provide special training for the animal to qualify as a PSD.
How to Train a Psychiatric Service Dog
When it comes to training your animal to perform specific tasks as your psychiatric service dog, there are several options available.
The ADA and the DOT permit owners to self-train their service animals. Using guidelines such as those provided by the General Public Access Test will enforce good behavior in your service dog when you’re visiting public spaces and are around other people.
There’s also the option to get a service dog from a specialized service dog organization. As previously mentioned, an animal from a service dog organization will have already received extensive training. However, the average cost of an animal from such an organization ranges from $15,000-$30,000.
The most popular option is to simply seek the services of a professional dog trainer. This is a preferable option for many who simply don’t have the time or energy to research training methods and best practices in addition to preparing a ‘curriculum’ for their service dog that meets guidelines like the General Public Access Test.
A dog trainer brings years of experience and knowledge to the table and can more quickly teach your dog to perform all needed tasks, saving you the headache of doing it yourself. Working with a trainer can also help you and your service dog better understand each other’s body language and further build your bond. A trainer can also help you come up with appropriate signals to give your psychiatric service dog when you need a specific task performed.
There are three options available when it comes to training your psychiatric service dog.
- Self Training. The ADA and the DOT permit owners to self-train their service animals. Using guidelines such as those provided by the General Public Access Test can ensure good manners and behavior in your PSD whenever you’re in a public place. However, many who require the services of a PSD understandably may not have the time, energy, or desire to research training methods and best practices specific to PSto to best teach their new assistance animal. Fortunately, there are other options available.
- Adopting from a Service Dog Organization. There are many organizations through which individuals can request a service dog. An animal from one of these service dog organizations will have already received extensive training and will be ready to assist you as soon as you bring your PSD home. However, the average cost of an animal from such an organization can range from $15,000-$30,000.
- Working with a Professional Dog Trainer (Most Popular Option). A dog trainer brings years of experience and knowledge about animal behavior to the table and can more quickly train your dog to perform any needed tasks as a PSD in addition to training them to meet the General Public Access Test guidelines. This type of formal and structured training is ideal, considering that the Department of Transportation (DOT) permits airlines the right to ask PSD owners to submit a certification form before departure that includes proof that their PSD has been trained to assist with a disability and is capable of good behavior on a flight. Working with a professional dog trainer is the easiest option available when it comes to submitting this certification form with confidence. It’s also the best option in training your PSD the right way, as a professional trainer can assist you with developing appropriate signals to give your psychiatric service dog when you need a specific task performed.
Interested in Getting a Psychiatric Service Dog?
Psychiatric service dogs play an important role in the lives of their owners.
They can help with mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, social phobias, and more by performing certain tasks that can help alleviate the symptoms of these disorders.
Because of the service they provide, psychiatric service dogs have federally protected rights that allow them access to public places. They also are entitled to certain travel and housing privileges. This way, they never have to be separated from the human who relies on their help.
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FAQs
Who can prescribe a psychiatric service dog?
A licensed mental health professional (LMHP) can prescribe an assistance animal such as a psychiatric service dog as part of an individual’s treatment plan.
Can psychiatric service dogs go anywhere?
The ADA gives disabled persons, including those with a mental health disability, the right to be accompanied by a psychiatric service animal in public spaces.
The service dog must be well-behaved, stay on the floor or in a harness, and cannot override public health rules (such as entering a public swimming pool). Religious institutions are exempt from the ADA and are not required to permit access to service dogs.
What tasks can a psychiatric service dog perform?
Psychiatric service dogs assist their owner by performing tasks that can help alleviate the individual’s stress, anxiety, depression, and/or other symptoms. From retrieving medication and assisting with emotional regulation to conducting room searches or serving as a buffer in overwhelming situations or crowded spaces, PSDs can be individually trained to perform several tasks for their handler’s unique needs.
How to Train a Psychiatric Service Dog?
Psychiatric Service Dog (PSDs) are assistance animals who are entitled to federally protected rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Because of the important and essential service that they provide their owners, they’re permitted access to public places like stores and restaurants, and are also permitted onboard airline cabins and in living accommodations that normally don’t allow pets.
However, in order to be recognized as a psychiatric service dog, an animal must be appropriately trained to perform the functions unique to their position.
Training Requirements for a Psychiatric Service Dog
Because they’re considered service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act, psychiatric service dogs are entitled to several federally protected rights. This allows them public access to places where pets or emotional support animals are normally not allowed.
These rights also extend to travel privileges in airline cabins without owners having to pay extra fees as well as fair accommodation in housing–even if the property has a ‘no pets’ policy.
However, in order for an assistance animal to be considered a psychiatric service dog, the animal must be suitably trained.
This is because the Department of Transportation allows airlines to require forms attesting to a service animal’s behavior and training before the service dog is cleared to board a flight. The DOT also allows airlines to refuse transportation to service animals that exhibit aggressive behavior.
Proper PSD training, therefore, serves two purposes: it ensures your service animal displays good manners at all times while in public places, and it also ensures that your service animal is able to perform a specific task or type of work that is directly related to your mental or emotional disability (a requirement for all PSDs).
That said, there are two components of an effective training regimen for psychiatric service dogs:
- The General Public Access Test, which instills good manners in service dogs, ensuring that they behave appropriately in public settings
- Specialized Task/Work Training, which satisfies the requirement of all PSDs to be able to perform a specific action that’s directly related to their handler’s disability
Let’s explore each of these components in more depth.
The General Public Access Test
As a service animal with federally protected rights, your psychiatric service dog will be permitted access to public places where pets or emotional support animals are normally not allowed.
Your PSD must therefore be able to behave appropriately in all public settings, which includes showing good manners around other people and animals.
The General Public Access Test, typically administered or signed off on by a professional dog trainer, is based on typical scenarios you and your service dog will encounter in every-day life. Successful completion of the test shows that your psychiatric service dog has been appropriately trained to be on their best behavior regardless of the many different situations they may face in a public setting.
Some of the tasks your PSD will be required to perform during the General Public Access Test include:
- Performing basic obedience skills such as sit, stay, down, and heel
Exiting a vehicle in a safe and controlled manner (e.g. waiting for your signal before exiting) - Entering a building in a safe and controlled manner (e.g. no straining against their leash)
- Remaining under control as another dog passes by
- Showing no fear of or aggression toward loud noises
Upon successful completion of the General Public Access Test, your dog trainer will sign off on your test documentation. A copy of this documentation is what you will submit to airlines that require it when traveling with your PSD.
Psychiatric Service Dog Tasks
Good manners and appropriate behavior when in public are essential traits of a well-trained psychiatric service dog.
However, there’s one additional aspect of PSD training that’s unique to these particular service dogs, and that’s the ability to perform a specific task or type of work that is directly related to your mental or emotional disability.
This is a requirement of all PSDs and is what allows them federally protected rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the Air Carrier Access Act and Fair Housing Act.
In accordance with guidelines established by the ADA, a public accommodation can legally ask PSD owners the following questions:
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
You’ll especially hear these questions when you’re traveling with your PSD via airplane. That said, no one has the right to ask you to identify your specific disability or ask that your pet demonstrate their skill.
However, all PSDs must still be trained to take a specific action (a task or type of work) on cue, and this action must be related to their handler’s disability.
There are a wide range of services that a psychiatric service dog can provide to their owner.
The U.S Department of Justice provides the following examples: “…a person with diabetes may have a dog that is trained to alert him when his blood sugar reaches high or low levels. A person with depression may have a dog that is trained to remind her to take her medication. Or, a person who has epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect the onset of a seizure and then help the person remain safe during the seizure.”
Below are some of the most common types of tasks or types of work that psychiatric service dogs can perform for their handlers, along with their assistance classification and the symptoms/experiences they can help mitigate.
Keep in mind that according to the Department of Justice, your psychiatric service dog is only required to perform one specific type of action. Some people, however, will train their PSD to perform other tasks as well if needed.
Tactile Stimulation, Deep Pressure Therapy, Pressure and Warmth Stimulation
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
Tactile stimulation and pressure therapy can help ground a person and offer a therapeutic distraction from anxiety, depression, or a pending panic attack. PSDs can also be trained to place pressure on their handler’s chest or lap to encourage emotional regulation, bring calm to a situation, or simply offer warmth.
Commonly used for: Anxiety, Apathy, Chills (pressure and warmth stimulation), Disengagement, Depression, Distractibility, Distress, Fear, Feelings of Isolation, Fight or Flight Response, Flashbacks, Intrusive Thoughts/Images, Panic Attacks, Nausea, Suicidal Ideation
Grounding
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
When a person feels trapped by the thoughts in their mind, whether they stem from anxiety, flashbacks, or other types of distress, grounding techniques can be helpful in bringing a person’s focus to their physical body or surroundings.
A psychiatric service dog can ground their handler through interaction, tactile stimulation, pressure therapy, or through other therapeutic means that assist their handler.
Commonly used for: Anxiety, Catatonic Behavior, Delusions, Depression, Disorganized Speech or Behavior, Dissociation, Flashbacks, Distress, Emotional Escalation, Flashbacks, Hypervigilance, Night Terrors, Psychosis, Self Mutilation, Sound Sensitivity, Sensory Overload, Sleep Disturbance, Startle Response, Suicidal Ideation
Medical Alert or Reminder
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
A psychiatric service dog can be trained to alert their handler to the beginning stages of a medical episode, such as a change in breathing patterns, an increase in heart rate, emotional escalation, or oncoming muscle tension.
In addition, a psychiatric service dog can remind their handler when it’s time for medication, when it’s time for bed, or when the handler needs to perform other daily routines throughout the day.
Commonly used for (Alerts): Medical episodes such as changes in breathing pattern or an increase in heart rate, Hallucinations (alerting to real people or noises), Hyperfocus, Hyperlocomotion, Irritability, Restlessness
Commonly used for (Reminders): Disorganization, Insomnia, Memory Loss
Assistive Actions
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
There are times when a handler may need their psychiatric service dog to perform certain everyday actions that provide assistance, such as retrieving medication if the individual is too nauseous or lethargic to do so themselves, keeping the handler in bed if needed, turning on the lights and waking up the handler during a night terror, providing identification documents to others for assistance, or closing a door to block out loud and disturbing noises.
Commonly used for: Dissociative Fugue, Forgotten Personal Identity, Hypersomnia, Lethargy, Memory Loss, Nausea, Night Terrors, Sound Sensitivity, Sleep Disturbance
Guidance
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
In certain scenarios, such as when a person is overcome with feelings of fear or overwhelm, they may rely on their psychiatric service dog to safely guide them home or to another safe location. This is also an essential source of support when a handler is disoriented or confused.
Commonly used for: Anxiety, Confusion, Difficulty Navigating, Disorientation, Dissociative Fugue, Fear, Feelings of Overwhelm, Fight or Flight Response, Psychomotor Retardation
Balance Support
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
Certain medications commonly used for mental health illnesses can come with side effects such as dizziness. This resulting dizziness can make it challenging for a person to walk without ample support. In these situations, a psychiatric service dog can brace their owner and/or provide balance assistance.
Commonly used for: Dizziness caused by psychiatric medications
Interaction
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
A psychiatric service dog’s companionship can provide therapeutic benefits for those living with feelings of depression, isolation, or tearfulness.
Through tactile stimulation, deep pressure therapy, or other means, a PSD can interact with its handler in toing comfort and calm. A psychiatric service dog can also initiate desired or needed interpersonal interactions for their owner’s benefit. In other situations, such as in the case of insomnia, a PSD may provide interaction until their handler initiates sleep preparations or another necessary routine.
Commonly used for: Anxiety, Apathy, Depersonalization, Depression, Disengagement, Feelings of Isolation, Insomnia, Sadness/Tearfulness, Social Withdrawal
Threat Assessment
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
Approaching certain spaces, whether familiar or new, can sometimes be triggering for those who live with anxiety-related illnesses or stress disorders.
In these scenarios, a handler can rely on their psychiatric service dog for assistance. The PSD can non-aggressively search the space for any threats and put their handler at ease.
Commonly used for: Anxiety, Distress, Fear, Hypervigilance
Barrier
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
In crowded and/or claustrophobic situations, a psychiatric service dog can act as a buffer to provide their handler with needed space.
The PSD can increase their owner’s personal bubble by standing between their handler and other people so that their owner is at ease and comfortable.
Commonly used for: Anxiety, Distress, Fear, Feelings of Overwhelm, Startle Response
This is by no means a comprehensive list of all possible tasks and work types that a PSD can be trained to perform. Instead, the above examples are only meant to serve as a guide regarding the type of actions a psychiatric service dog can perform for their handler.
Working together with your dog trainer, you can determine what tasks would best suit your unique situation and then begin training your service animal for that specific function.
Interruption
Assistance Classification: Work, Task
Sometimes, a psychiatric service dog’s role may be to interrupt their owner from performing a certain action.
This is commonly seen in situations when a PSD must interrupt a person’s repetitive or compulsive behavior or when they may need to ground a handler by interrupting a dissociative episode through tactile stimulation or deep pressure therapy. In the case of self-mutilationits, a PSD may interrupt the act by alerting or by providing tactile stimulation.
Commonly used for Dissociation, Dissociative Flashback, Repetitive/Compulsive Behavior, Self Mutilations
Need Help Training a Psychiatric Service Dog?
When it comes to training a psychiatric service dog, the best course of action is to partner with a professional dog trainer.
This option conveniently takes out all the guesswork when it comes to providing your PSD with training that’s suitable and sufficient enough for them to be officially recognized as a psychiatric service dog. It’s also a stress-free option that saves you time and energy, which makes it the most popular option people pursue when it comes to training a PSD.
Considering that the Department of Transportation allows airlines to require forms attesting to a service animal’s behavior and training before the service dog is cleared to board a flight, working one-on-one with a professional dog trainer gives you the peace of mind you need to travel with your PSD without fear of coming across any issues.