Service Animals
&
Emotional Support Animals
What's the difference?
While service animals and emotional support animals (ESA) seem similar, they actually have different meanings, uses, and abilities.
A service animal helps assist those with impaired mobility and vision, medical conditions, and other disabilities. Service animals are trained to aid and assist with specific tasks. Service animals are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as those with a disability are entitled to a service animal to help them in their daily lives. "The ADA protects disabled individuals by allowing them to bring their service animal with them to most places that the public is permitted, including restaurants, hotels, housing complexes, and even in air travel." For your service animal to be protected under the ADA, they must be officially registered as a service animal.
An emotional support animal helps those who suffer from any emotional, mental, or psychological challenges. They are there to provide comfort and support by being there with you. Since an ESA is not trained to perform specific tasks, they are not recognized as a service animal under the ADA. An ESA can go to most public places with you but some establishments may not allow animals even if they are an ESA. An ESA also must be registered to be officially recognized as an emotional support animal.
Can my counselor help me with my emotional support animal registration?
Yes! Our counselors can certainly help with writing a recommendation letter from a mental health professional's point of view explaining why they think an emotional support animal would be beneficial to you.
Our counselors can not help with the registration process of a service animal though as they are trained to help with medical challenges and disabilities, which is not something our mental health professionals are qualified to help with.
Can I bring my service animal or emotional support animal to therapy?
Since service animals are protected under the ADA, you can certainly bring your service animal with you to your therapy sessions! Just give your counselor a heads-up in advance.
While we may allow you to sometimes bring in your ESA, our building has a no-pets policy, and emotional support animals are not protected under the ADA. We will work with you to help you feel comfortable enough in your therapy sessions where you will not need your ESA while you are with your counselor. Coordinate with your counselor if you would like to bring your ESA along for your initial appointment.
FEES.
There are no additional fees for needing a counselor's note of recommendation to help you get your animal registered as an emotional support animal.
We believe every person deserves quality counseling, regardless of their financial resources or insurance coverage. As a result, we offer a sliding fee scale. We accept most major insurance plans. Click here for more info on insurance and sliding fee scale.
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