People who own pets can attest to the unconditional love and joy their animals bring them. Even the most hardened people can quickly soften their hearts toward a furry companion. As a result, many certified mental health practitioners are increasingly aware of the benefits that emotional support animals can provide in recovering from a mental illness.
Dr. Sehaj Grewal, a veterinarian who practices in Los Angeles and is also known as “The Melrose Vet,” is a significant advocate of adopting emotional support animals. He believes that being around ESA pets makes people happier. This explains why seeing a lovely puppy makes you feel tender and affectionate.
Dr. Grewal has had a lifelong love for animals, and he has always been certain that he will pursue a career in the medical care of animals. He finished at the top of his class and did exceptionally well in the clinical rotations he was required to complete during his time at university. Before following his father’s profession as a veterinarian and joining the family business, he began his career as a kennel assistant. He established his veterinary practice after gaining experience at several others.
As his clients affectionately refer to him, Dr. G is an ardent supporter of animal welfare and works hard to promote it. His work as a veterinarian includes caring for both the furparents and the furbabies. He ensures that their cherished pet harmonizes with their parents flawlessly, providing harmony to the connection.
In this interview with NEW YOU Magazine, Dr. G discusses emotional support animals and how owners with mental health conditions can benefit from having a companion animal at their side. Read more on the Q&A below:
NEW YOU: What is an emotional support animal, and how do emotional support animals help people struggling with mental health?
Dr. Sehaj Grewal: An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that provides love and comfort to patients with mental disorders. They are different from regular dogs or cats, as they are certified to accompany their owner to most places and provide support anytime.
Emotional support animals provide comfort to owners with mental health issues, especially to those who have:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety disorders
- Specific phobias like agoraphobia and aerophobia
- Depression
Emotional comfort is a significant contributing factor to why many people want an ESA. Emotional support animals provide home healthcare for those struggling with a mental illness. While doctors prescribe medications, sometimes they prescribe an emotional support animal to provide the comfort the patient needs. For example, people struggling with mental illness have found that having an ESA decreases their anxiety and helps them fight feelings of loneliness.
NY: What are the common types of emotional support animals? What do you recommend the most?
Dr. G: Emotional support animals can be any type, such as dogs, cats, rabbits, pocket pets such as hamsters, guinea pigs, etc. They are not restricted to a type of species. However, you will need a prescription or a letter from a mental health professional. This professional certifies that you have a diagnosed mental health condition and that you need the ESA to alleviate or lessen your symptoms in a comfortable capacity.
Also, it’s important to consider the feasibility of having your ESA accompany you where you need to go when choosing what type of animal becomes your ESA.
NY: There are a lot of people who require emotional support animals. What are the factors people should look into when deciding to get one?
Dr. G: People should look to see if the animal does provide the therapy they need to help with their mental illness. Usually, they should be able to provide companionship and comfort and not be a nuisance.
When choosing an animal, make sure it passes the temperament test. This test will confirm that they are fit to serve you and that they do not pose a threat to the general public.
For example, a dog that is aggressive to others or a cat that runs away when you try to hold it would not generally have the right temperament for an ESA. An animal that is generally:
- Friendly
- Comes to you when called or doesn’t run away (e.g., turtle)
- Is playful or calm, depending on your needs
- Makes you feel better emotionally when they’re near you
NY: How are emotional support animals trained?
Dr. G: Emotional support animals do not perform tasks, so they are not trained for any particular task. They are just there to provide companionship and comfort which helps alleviate the person’s mental condition.
Aside from the basic training of sitting, walking, and eating, ESAs are also trained emotionally. Emotional Support Animals can do more than just follow basic commands, provided you give them the training for it.
ESAs do not need to undergo the same training as service animals; ESA certification is not dependent on the animal’s abilities but rather their owner’s emotional needs. However, if you choose to do so, you could train your ESA to have some of the same skills that some kinds of service animals are taught. This kind of training will be more difficult than basic behavioral training, and much concentration will be required from the animal undergoing this developmental activity. For example, you may require the assistance of a professional trainer to fully train your ESA.
NY: How do you get an emotional support animal? Does a doctor prescribe these?
Dr. G: A person may need an emotional support dog is a little different than why a person might need a service dog or psychiatric service dog. Anyone who wants to legally keep our emotional support animal with us at home and in public places to help with mental or emotional health symptoms needs to qualify for an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist that you can show landlords and others.
Talking to a professional can help you understand whether you can be helped by having an ESA. While relatively few of us deal with the most severe forms of emotional and mental health disorders, researchers say about half of Americans have or will develop some form of mental or emotional disorder at some point in their life. But, for some of us, those conditions are severe and long-lasting. Luckily, for many of us, our struggles are more temporary and don’t happen all the time.
Unfortunately, many of us are never formally diagnosed by a professional, so we can take steps to help ourselves. They are still very real to us and for many more other people than you might think. So it is worth it to find out if you are one of the people who can be helped by an ESA and how to protect your rights if you need that help by speaking to a licensed mental health professional.
NY: What is the main difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal?
Dr. G: Many people use these terms interchangeably, but they are different. A service dog is a trained dog to assist or guide a person with a disability (physical, intellectual, sensory, or mental disability). Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, service dogs or service animals can guide the blind and are trained to assist persons with disabilities in performing everyday tasks. Service animals are trained to pull a wheelchair, retrieve dropped items, alert a person to sounds, press the elevator button, and even remind their human when it’s time to take their medication.
Emotional support animals can be dogs, cats, birds, or reptiles. An emotional support animal (ESA) provides a therapeutic effect to the owner through companionship. The animal provides comfort to persons with mental health decline or psychiatric illness. ESAs are neither pets nor service animals. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines service animals as those trained to carry out tasks for the disabled. On the other hand, emotional support animals do not undergo any training beyond the regular training a pet requires.
NY: What is your advice to people looking to get an emotional support animal?
Dr. G: If you believe you would benefit from having an emotional support animal, then your first step is to have a mental health professional assess your need for an ESA. Once you have seen a doctor under his/her professional care, he/she will have to fill out the appropriate paperwork for you to present to your landlord or airline.
Pets provide emotional support and companionship. They can be your best friend and a part of the family. Now that ESAs are an essential part of therapy, there’s more reason to spend time with your fur babies.
