Psychiatric service dogs are service animals that are trained to help with certain mental health conditions or disabilities. These dogs may be qualified to help several individuals, and those with psychiatric service dogs often benefit from the support and tasks that these animals provide. If you are interested in adding a psychiatric service dog to your treatment plan or want to know more about how these service animals can help, read on. Our article will tell you everything you need to know.
What Is a Psychiatric Service Dog?
A psychiatric service dog (PSD) is a dog that has been trained to specifically help with mental health conditions or psychiatric disabilities. This is different and distinct from service animals like mobility support dogs, guide dogs, or medical alert dogs. Psychiatric service dogs are primarily known for the assistance they provide individuals with conditions such as PTSD and OCD, though they can benefit any individual with a psychiatric condition or mental health disability that interferes with their daily life.
Who Qualifies for a Psychiatric Service Dog?
Any individual who has a psychiatric or mental health condition that interferes with their daily routines and their quality of life may be able to qualify for the assistance of a psychiatric service dog. Common conditions that psychiatric service dogs can help with include anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic stress, OCD, and autism.
It is important to note that if you adopt a psychiatric service dog, you will need to be able to provide for them both financially and physically. Individuals with qualifying conditions must be in a stable home and able to provide their dog with proper care throughout the dog’s life.
What Tasks Do Psychiatric Service Dogs Perform?
Psychiatric service dogs perform a variety of tasks which may differ depending on the disabilities they are trained to help with and the individual’s specific needs. Below, we give you details on some of the most common tasks that psychiatric service dogs can perform for their owners.
If you don’t see a task that you would need help with on this list, don’t worry – psychiatric service dogs often finish their training alongside their owner and spend time learning other unique skills that are specific to their owner’s disability.
Retrieving Items
Many service dogs are trained to retrieve items, and psychiatric service dogs are no different. Your service animal may be trained to bring you water, medication, remotes, phones, and other important items, and they may even be trained to open or close doors and cabinets in order to fetch these items for you.
Your psychiatric service dog might also be trained to remind you to take medications on a schedule or to bring you medications and water at certain times throughout the day.
Guidance and Support
Psychiatric service dogs offer their owners both guidance and support when in public and at home. These dogs may take their owners to safe or quiet spaces if they feel a panic attack or other negative emotions starting, and they can provide mobility or balance support if an individual feels dizzy and overwhelmed.
Psychiatric service dogs can also help their owners by guarding their backs in public and by placing themselves as a barrier between their owners and other individuals.
Hallucination Identification
For individuals with conditions like schizophrenia or PTSD: hallucinations, flashbacks, and triggering memories may occur. A psychiatric service dog can be trained to check around corners or doors, help their owner identify if items or people are real or not, and provide a sense of safety for their owner.
Negative Behavior Distraction
Many psychiatric or mental health conditions come with symptoms that increase negative emotions, such as anxiety and panic attacks, depressive feelings, stress, and fear. Some individuals may engage in behavior such as self-harm to try and express their emotions, while others may engage in destructive behaviors to themselves or their surroundings.
A psychiatric service dog helps individuals who experience negative behaviors or thoughts by providing distractions, interrupting harmful behaviors, and guiding their owners to healthier behaviors, such as insisting they get brushed or go on a walk.
Grounding and Deep Pressure Stimulation
Some psychiatric disabilities are characterized by flashbacks, panic attacks, and moments of overwhelming thoughts or feelings. A psychiatric service dog helps its owner manage these moments by providing grounding support by laying their paws on their owner, licking their face, or resting their head on their owner’s lap.
A psychiatric service dog can also be trained to provide deep pressure stimulation, which involves laying their entire body on their owner. This helps to comfort and calm the individual, helping them feel more relaxed and able to manage their negative or overwhelmed feelings more effectively.
Seeking Emergency Help
In some cases, it is necessary for a psychiatric service dog to seek emergency help for their owner. These dogs can be trained to locate and retieve help in an emergency, or to bring a phone to their owner so they can call for help in emergency situations.
How Do I Get a Psychiatric Service Dog?
Adding a psychiatric service dog to your life doesn’t need to be a complicated process, but you do need to speak to your doctor or licensed mental healthcare provider to ensure that you are eligible to adopt a psychiatric service dog. Your medical provider can help determine if you would benefit from the assistance of a psychiatric service dog and whether or not you are able to physically take care of your dog during your time together.
Once you have been approved to add a psychiatric service dog to your treatment plan, you can start the process of finding an organization to adopt from or adopting a service dog to train yourself. Research on local and national organizations or foundations can help you find a suitable psychiatric service dog for your needs.
Can I Train My Own Psychiatric Service Dog?
It is possible to train your own psychiatric service dog, as the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn’t require that your service dog follows any sort of plan or training routine. You can train your dog to complete the specific tasks that you need help with, and as long as your dog performs these tasks that help you with your disability, they are granted the classification of a service dog and the protections that come with it.
Many individuals choose to train their own psychiatric service dog to avoid the long wait that sometimes comes with adopting a fully trained PSD and the large upfront cost associated with purchasing a trained service animal.
FAQs About Psychiatric Service Dogs
We answer frequently asked questions about psychiatric service dogs below to give you more of an idea of how these dogs can benefit you and the protections they might have.
How Much Does a Psychiatric Service Dog Cost?
A psychiatric service dog costs, on average, between $15,000 and $30,000. This cost includes the care and training of your dog, and individuals will be expected to participate in the final stages of training for their psychiatric service dog. You should keep in mind that insurance doesn’t typically pay for your psychiatric service dog, though there are often grants, foundations, and organizations that aim to place psychiatric service dogs with individuals in need at low or no cost.
Does My Psychiatric Service Dog Have Rights?
Your psychiatric service dog will have federally and state-protected rights when it comes to accessing public or private spaces with you, living with you, and traveling with you. These rights are protected in federal legislation, and they must be upheld. Thanks to your protected service dog rights, you can enter places that wouldn’t typically accept pets, such as restaurants and retail stores, with your service animal.
The only time your psychiatric service dog might be turned away is when they are out of control, destructive, or dangerous, or when attempting to enter some religious buildings.
Where Can I Take My Psychiatric Service Dog?
You can take your psychiatric service dog with you virtually anywhere, including restaurants, malls, businesses, and public areas. Your psychiatric service dog is exempt from breed restrictions, animal restrictions, and other bans, and they must be allowed to accompany you into any space outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Can I Live With My Psychiatric Service Dog?
You have federally protected rights to live with your psychiatric service dog, and these rights ensure that individuals who need the support of their service dogs are able to access fair and reasonable housing. With your housing rights, you can live alongside your psychiatric service dog in any suitable space, and you will be exempt from paying pet fees, pet rent, and any additional pet security deposits.
Keep in mind that if your PSD is destructive or dangerous, they may not be granted accommodation rights by your landlord or rental agency. You will also need to pay for any damage your service animal causes while living with you.
Does My Psychiatric Service Dog Need to Be a Specific Breed?
Your psychiatric service dog doesn’t need to be a specific breed, nor do they need to be a certain age or size. However, your psychiatric service dog does need to have the size and strength to help you with all important tasks, including deep pressure stimulation and retrieving items, if they are trained for that. It’s always important to keep a dog’s size, strength, and temperament in mind when adopting a service dog, especially if you are adopting a dog from the shelter and planning to train them by yourself.
Are Psychiatric Service Dogs Emotional Support Animals?
Psychiatric service dogs are not emotional support animals – these two types of companion animals have different roles. While emotional support animals can be incredibly beneficial to individuals with certain mental health conditions, they are not trained to perform tasks that help relieve certain disability-related symptoms. Instead, they provide their comfort and companionship, which helps relieve the symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression in their owners.
On the other hand, psychiatric service dogs are specifically trained to perform tasks and services that help with an individual’s psychiatric disability. The work that a PSD performs is vital to helping an individual go about their daily lives as their service dog guides them, brings them items, and provides them support both inside and outside of the home.
Receiving Support From Your Psychiatric Service Dog
Psychiatric service dogs are essential companions for many individuals who deal with certain mental health or psychiatric disabilities. With the help of a dedicated psychiatric service dog, individuals can benefit from relief of their symptoms and a sense of comfort and support as they go about their daily lives.
If you are interested in adding a psychiatric service dog to your treatment or management plan, speak with your doctor or licensed mental healthcare provider as soon as possible. They can evaluate your need for a PSD and point you in the right direction for adding one into your life and benefiting from all of the support that a psychiatric service dog brings.