Emotional Support Animal Evaluations: Comprehensive Assessments for a Controversial Issue
In recent years, the use of animals to provide comfort, assistance, and therapy for individuals with various medical and psychological needs has gained attention, particularly with the rise of individuals relying on “Emotional Support Animals” (ESAs). However, there are several different types of animal-assisted interventions, and ESAs differ in important ways from service animals and therapy animals, for example. The use of ESAs became controversial as an increasing number of people began to claim their pets as ESAs and as industries appeared claiming to be able to “certify” ESAs. Further, individuals may seek a psychological evaluation to demonstrate that their animal qualifies as an ESA, and current recommendations are for these evaluations to be quite comprehensive.
Read More