What are the Differences Between Psychiatric Service, Therapy and Emotional Support Animals?
Understanding the differences between a psychiatric service, therapy, and ESA (emotional support) animal is confusing. Although it sounds like all these animals perform similar tasks, they have very different responsibilities, training requirements, and access rules. Not being aware of the difference can lead to injury or legal action.
Emotional Support Animals (ESA):
The job of an emotional support animal is to provide comfort to an individual with a mental health condition. Under the US Department of Transportation’s Air Carrier Access Act, airlines previously had to accept ESA. Emotional support animals traveled for free and were exempt from size and carrier restrictions. Passengers wanting to travel with an ESA only had to present a health professional’s letter.
Unfortunately, the ease of flying with an emotional support animal caused some passengers to take advantage of the system. Travelers simply purchased ESA letters online without even having an evaluation. The lack of training requirements led to incidents of animals soiling the aircraft and even harming other passengers.
In the winter of 2020, the Department of Transportation revised the Air Carrier Access Act. The changes allowed airlines to treat emotional support animals as ordinary pets. Former ESA who are under an airline’s size limit may still fly in-cabin but must now pay a fee. As pets, they also have to stay in an approved under-seat carrier for the flight duration.
Psychiatric Service Animals:
Psychiatric service animals receive specialized training to assist with severe conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. These highly trained animals have access to places that aren’t ordinarily open to pets. Unlike emotional support or therapy animals, psychiatric service animals receive protection from the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I know how tempting it is to pet a psychiatric service animal, but it’s essential not to distract one while it is doing its job. It also may be tempting to put a “Service Dog” harness on your pet. However, It is a crime to misrepresent an untrained pet as a psychiatric service animal. These laws apply even if they are an ESA or certified therapy animal. You also risk disrupting the work of a legitimate service animal.
Therapy Animals:
While emotional support and psychiatric support animals help a single person, therapy animals provide comfort to many. These cuddly volunteers help by visiting nursing homes, hospitals, and schools. There are no standardized training regulations for therapy animals, but most facilities require testing and certification by an accredited organization. Therapy animals must follow the same access rules for pets and ESA.
Louie and Coco are certified therapy animals with the Pets & People Foundation. The Foundation first requires that dogs complete the AKC Canine Good Citizen course. Next, they test the animal’s response to situations it may encounter while volunteering. These situations may include ignoring dropped food and reactions to loud noises or wheelchairs.
Why it’s Important to Understand the Difference Between Psychiatric Service, Therapy and Emotional Support Animals
I hope this post has helped explain the differences between psychiatric service, therapy, and ESA. All these animals provide a type of service, but they have different training requirements and access rules. It is a confusing and sometimes controversial topic, so I welcome your feedback.
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Good post, Jenna!
Thank you for writing this post and explaining the difference! My brother-in-law, whose disability isn’t recognizable just by looking at him, has a service dog. Folks not understanding the important role his dog plays or who try to suggest their ESA is a service dog put him at risk. By the way, it’s not just wrong to claim your ESA or therapy dog is a service dog. In several states, it’s actually illegal!
Great post! It is important for people to recognize that there is a difference between therapy dogs and service dogs. I’m glad people can read your article and get this valuable information.
I’ve long been aware of Service Dogs, but only became aware of ESAs in the last few years, mostly via the controversial news stories about some of the outlier cases of ESAs taken on planes! Therapy dogs, I have heard of but not come across much, I must find out what services we have in my area. Service Dogs, both to help those who are blind, and those with the disabilities, are the animals I’m most aware of, and also in awe of — the way they are able to change peoples’ lives is astonishing.
Though we love dogs, we have never had one as a pet. This is a really interesting and informative post that clearly distinguishes between ESA’s, therapy dogs, and service dogs. Really good to know the information. Our four-legged friends are doing such a great job in all these categories, hats off to them.
This was a very insightful post for me, because I’d never even considered the differences between an ESA, therapy, and service dog. I can see now that each has unique roles and regulations. I also found it interesting to learn that the roles are not exclusive, seeing as Louie is both an ESA and a therapy dog. (Yay, Louie!) Your post has me thinking about how lucky we are to have these special dogs playing such an important role in our well-being as humans! <3
Hello. Thank you for your post. My therapist is going to write a letter regarding my dog to be an ESA for me. Would you be able to tell me on how I would go about getting an ESA dog harness and anything else I might need?
Thank you, Michelle Edson
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for your message. I’m sorry it’s been so long to respond but I’m just getting back to the blog after a break.
You don’t technically need a special ESA harness but using one can certainly help avoid questions. Louie has a harness with velcro patches that you can switch out for when you aren’t flying. We purchased the harness and extra personalized patches Amazon.