Living with a mental health disorder like agoraphobia can be debilitating; it can hinder the individual’s day-to-day life, make maintaining a routine challenging, and prevent them from achieving their long-term goals.
If you’re struggling with agoraphobia, you don’t have to battle through it alone. There is a wide array of treatments available, including a psychiatric service dog (PSD). PSDs are specially trained to help individuals with their disabilities through performing tasks and providing emotional support.
Below, we’ll delve further into what a psychiatric service dog is and how exactly they can help those with agoraphobia. Then, we’ll discuss their legal rights and how to qualify for one.
PSDs assist those with psychiatric disabilities by performing special tasks that help make symptoms more bearable. Common tasks include deep pressure therapy, retrieving medication, and fetching help. Besides performing tasks, psychiatric service dogs can also provide comfort and emotional support.
PSDs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and are officially defined as a dog “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” Also, “the task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.”
Any breed can become a PSD as long as they have the right temperament, guidance, and training. That said, a few breeds tend to excel at this line of work, including golden retrievers, Havanese, German shepherds, and poodles.
Psychiatric service dogs and emotional support animals (ESAs) both offer comfort and reassurance. However, there are a few crucial differences between them. The main one is that PSDs are specially trained to perform disability-related tasks that help their handler go about their day. While emotional support animals do not need to undergo any training – their sole purpose is to provide emotional support through their presence.
PSDs and ESAs also receive different legal rights. Besides being protected by the ADA, PSDs are also protected by various federal and state laws. The laws are in place to ensure they can easily perform the task they were trained for at all times.
On the other hand, emotional service animals are not recognized by the ADA, though they are afforded some rights. For example, landlords must accommodate ESAs at no additional cost to the tenant (enforced by the Fair Housing Act).
While virtually any animal can become an ESA – yes, even reptiles – the only animals that can be legally considered service animals (under the ADA) are dogs and miniature horses. However, it’s worth noting that miniature horses are not always given the same rights as service dogs. For example, the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) only recognizes dogs as service animals.
Psychiatric service dogs can be trained to perform a wide array of tasks that can significantly improve an individual’s quality of life. They also provide their handler with a sense of security and comfort and can be taught to find help during emergencies.
Below, we’ll give a rundown of some of the most common (and vital) tasks that a PSD can perform to assist individuals with agoraphobia.
Tactile stimulation – which involves the PSD interrupting and redirecting their handler’s attention through physical contact – can help ground the individual and also prevent intrusive thoughts from escalating further.
A PSD can perform tactile stimulation by nudging, pawing, or licking their handler. They might also fetch items and push these into their owner’s hands.
While PSDs can be trained to deliver tactile stimulation on cue, they can also learn to do so in response to a change in their handler’s mood or behavior. After all, dogs have heightened senses, and can easily identify changes within us, often before we even notice them.
A psychiatric service dog can perform deep pressure therapy by applying its body weight and warmth against its handler’s chest. Similar to a weighted blanket, the pressure has a calming effect that can de-escalate anxiety and prevent the onset of a panic attack.
Medium and large breeds are the most effective at performing deep pressure therapy since they weigh enough for the pressure to be noticeable. It’s possible for giant breeds like Great Danes to perform deep pressure therapy, but rather than using their whole body weight, they can instead press their head or paws onto their handler.
During an emergency, a PSD can be trained to get medication and bring it to their handler. They can also be taught to bring medication on a schedule, preventing late or missed dosages.
A PSD can be trained to recognize the onset of a panic attack and then alert their handler when they identify its signs. This can help to ground the individual by allowing them to be consciously aware of their escalating anxiety.
Public spaces and crowded areas can be anxiety-inducing for those with agoraphobia. However, a PSD can help make these situations more bearable by being a barrier: the dog puts themselves between their handler and passersby.
This can give the handler a greater sense of security when out and about. The PSD can also subtly push away those close without any hassle or attention drawn to their handler.
A psychiatric service dog can be taught to “guard” their handler’s back on command. This can help the individual feel more at ease in public areas. A PSD can also be trained to warn their handler if someone is getting too close to them.
In the event of a panic attack, an individual can become lightheaded, faint, or dizzy. This can hinder their sense of balance and even cause them to collapse. A PSD can be taught to help steady their owner if this occurs by positioning themselves to provide counter-resistance.
During an emergency, a PSD can be trained to find the nearest person and bring them to their handler. They can also be taught to bring their handler a phone, allowing them to call the emergency number or contact their support network.
With the right equipment and setup, a PSD can also open the front door to let emergency responders in if their handler is trapped inside the house.
A PSD can be trained to perform a room check, where they enter a room first to make sure it is safe. They will then alert their handler if there is anything dangerous. This can help an individual with agoraphobia feel more at ease when entering a new environment.
If their handler starts to feel helpless, trapped, or anxious, a PSD can locate the nearest exit and then escort them to a safe and quiet area. Once their handler is in a less anxiety-inducing situation, they can then work to ground and de-escalate their panic through deep pressure therapy and tactile stimulation.
The tasks above are only a handful of the tasks a psychiatric service dog can be trained to do. Here, we’ll quickly go over a few more ways a psychiatric service dog can help with agoraphobia:
To qualify for a psychiatric service dog, you need to have the appropriate documentation from a doctor or mental health professional. The documentation must confirm you have a debilitating psychiatric disorder and will benefit from a PSD.
You also need to prove that you are capable of looking after a PSD without needing assistance to do so. You must be able to take part in their training and show that you can provide a loving, safe, and stable home for the dog.
Under the ADA, a psychiatric service dog only needs to perform one disability-related task to be considered a PSD. While you can train a PSD by yourself – typically with guidance and support from a trainer – there are several specialized programs that train PSDs. There is no official registration or certification for a dog to become a psychiatric service dog.
Be aware that while psychiatric service dogs can perform many life-changing tasks, they often do draw people’s attention. If this is something that could escalate your anxiety, it’s worth thoroughly thinking through (with your doctor or therapist) if the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks this can bring.
Fortunately, there are various state and federal laws in place to ensure psychiatric service dogs can do the job they were trained for. These include:
The ADA also has laws in place that protect the integrity and privacy of those with a PSD. It is illegal to ask someone with a PSD any other questions besides “is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?” and “what work or task has the dog been trained to perform?”
It is also against the law for others to “require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.”
A psychiatric service dog is truly a life-changing companion; they offer comfort, love, security, and reassurance and perform tasks that work to prevent or mitigate symptoms.
Of course, it’s important to remember that service dogs are animals. They also require support and care to live their best life too. If you’re considering a service dog, make sure that you can provide them with the life they deserve.