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Considerations for the Writing of Certification Letters Endorsing Use of Emotional Support Animals
Renee L Binder1, Tanuja Gandhi1, Meera Menon1
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco (Binder); Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island (Gandhi); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus (Menon); Center for Forensic Psychiatry, Saline, Michigan (Audu); Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Audu); Department of Psychiatry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina (Nesbit); Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Nesbit); Permanente Medical Group and Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland (Ridout); private practice, El Cerrito, California (Campbell); Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville (Garayalde); Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven (Dike).
Abstract:
Emotional support animals (ESAs) are different from service animals, therapy animals, and other disability-related assistance animals. Although pet ownership may confer psychological benefits, limited research has supported the use of ESAs to realize such benefits. If clinicians are asked to write a letter of support for use of an ESA, they need to be familiar with relevant federal, state, and local laws that regulate ESAs and with the essential components of an ESA evaluation. This article provides an overview of terminology; federal, state, and local laws related to ESAs; and clinical and ethical considerations for clinicians who decide to write these letters. The authors also review liability issues related to writing these letters, including those related to ESA aggression.
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