Animals that provide comfort and companionship to people with emotional or psychological problems are known as emotional support animals, or ESAs. They don’t need any special training, and their purpose is to help the person emotionally. ESAs are not the same as service animals, which are taught to carry out certain activities for people with impairments. The Fair Housing Act and the Air Carrier Access Act provide ESAs with protection in the US, enabling them to live with their owners in homes that do not normally permit pets and to travel in the cabin of an aircraft with no additional costs. It’s crucial to remember that every airline and landlord may have different rules when it comes to emotional support animals.
A letter stating that a person has a mental or emotional disability and that having an emotional support animal is essential for their well-being is known as an emotional support animal letter. It is written by a mental health professional, such as a therapist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner or psychiatrist. Landlords and airlines usually need this letter to confirm that a person has a valid need for an emotional support animal.
The letter should contain the following:
- Name, address, phone number, and professional license number of the mental health professional
- The assessment date
- The identification of the person’s emotional or mental illness
- The claim that the emotional support animal is essential to the person’s care or that it helps with the disability’s symptoms
- The mental health professional’s signature
It’s crucial to remember that lying about having a disability to get a letter approving an emotional support animal is against the law. Additionally, the Emotional Support Animal letter must be written by a clinician who is licensed in the state in which you live, and it must be less than a year old.
Wildwood Family Psychiatry conducts assessments to determine if you qualify for an emotional support animal. If we believe you meet the criteria, we provide emotional support animal letters for landlords and airlines.