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Psychiatric service dogs (PSD) play a vital role for humans. Many of these special animals are trained to perform complex tasks and sense changes in their handlers’ physical and emotional states. Not only do they provide aid and comfort while for a handler while they carry out daily tasks, but they also offer a strong sense of emotional support.
These supportive skills are especially important for people with mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People with PTSD can find it challenging to carry out simple daily tasks due to the high anxiety levels that they experience. These individuals can also suffer from panic attacks and flashbacks that arrive without a moment’s notice. Psychiatric service dogs can help in this regard by redirecting anxious episodes and providing comfort when they occur.
If you are thinking of getting a psychiatric service dog, this guide provides information about what these animals do and what benefits they provide for people with PTSD.
What Is a Psychiatric Service Dog?
A psychiatric service dog (PSD) is a special type of service animal that is trained to assist people with mental illnesses. This includes conditions such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A PSD, for example, can be trained to fetch medication, turn on the lights, or provide a calming presence when a handler has a panic attack. Among the many tasks a PSD is trained for, these animals offer other benefits such as companionship, comfort, and support.
PTSD and Psychiatric Service Dogs
When it comes to conditions like PTSD, psychiatric service dogs play a crucial role. People who have developed PTSD after witnessing or experiencing traumatic events (e.g., military combat, accidents, death, violence/abuse) can end up with debilitating symptoms. These include, but are not limited to:
- Bad dreams or nightmares
- Physical symptoms such as sweating or a tense stomach
- Feelings of detachment from others
- Hypervigilance
- Reactions, such as flashbacks, where one feels or acts like the event is happening again
- Avoiding places, events, or objects that are reminders of the traumatic experience
- Being easily startled
- Feeling tense or “on edge”
- Having difficulty sleeping
- Irritability and anger
- Reckless or self-destructive behavior
Due to the high anxiety levels in people with PTSD, psychiatric service dogs are trained to help them cope with their symptoms by grounding them and assisting with daily tasks. PSDs can also be trained to deal with crowded public spaces and deal with emergency situations. While these animals can help any person who has PTSD, they are proving to be especially useful among the veteran populations, particularly when it comes to disrupting episodes of anxiety.
Whatever the reason, a PSD’s role when working with a person with PTSD is to provide protection, comfort, and assistance.
How Psychiatric Service Dogs Can Help With PTSD
Psychiatric service dogs can be trained to carry out a multitude of tasks. Not only are they able to tune in to their handler’s emotional states, but they can also learn specific commands that are essential in emergency situations. These include tasks such as fetching an item or alerting a handler to danger. Below are some of the key tasks that a PSD can perform when working with a handler with PTSD.
Ease Anxiety
Individuals with PTSD often have high levels of anxiety. This can occur without notice, or it can be triggered by seeing, hearing, or experiencing something that reminds the person of a traumatic event. In these instances, a PSD can be trained to not only sense the oncoming anxiety, but they can also disrupt it.
Therefore, one of the most vital tasks that psychiatric service dogs provide for a person with PTSD is to ease anxiety. Dogs have highly attuned senses, so much so that they can sense seizures or panic attacks before they even begin. For example, a study conducted by K9s For Warriors, the largest provider of Service Dogs to military veterans suffering from PTSD in the U.S., showed that alerting a veteran to anxiety and providing physical contact was the most important and most used task in a given day.
For example, if a handler starts to feel anxious or enters a panic state, a PSD can alert them by licking, nudging, or pawing them. This can snap them out of their anxiety and encourage them to focus on the dog, rather than their fear. PSDs can also be trained to notice when a person is having a nightmare and will actively wake them up. These dogs can also perform tasks in public and provide a sense of security for the handler to prevent anxiety from escalating.
Provide Tactile Stimulation
It is no secret that dogs have remarkable senses. This means they can sense the slightest changes in a handler’s hormone levels or state of mind, almost before they realize it themselves. Therefore, if a person is having an anxiety attack, PSDs can be trained to provide tactile stimulation to calm them down.
They can also perform what is known as ‘deep pressure therapy’ by applying their whole body onto the handler. This acts like a weighted blanket to offer comfort.
Interrupt & Redirect
Another way that PSDs can help with PTSD is by interrupting a flashback and redirecting the handler when they occur. War veterans, for example, will often experience flashbacks of troubling events from combat, and these can arrive without warning.
Psychiatric service dogs can alert the handler when these are occurring and help them focus on something else. A PSD may lick or paw at them to try and snap them out of it. While the presence of the dog may not get rid of the flashback, it can help them redirect their attention and stop it from becoming too intense.
Block Others
People with PTSD can find public spaces difficult, especially if they are frequently anxious. A psychiatric service dog can therefore be trained to place its body close to the handler to provide comfort and security. They can also be trained to block other people from their handler’s personal space by placing their body in strategic places.
Do a Room Search
Depending on their experiences, some people with PTSD may be afraid to enter a room if someone is there. This is especially the case with veterans or with individuals who have been assaulted or abused.
PSDs can be trained to search a room thoroughly and then bark if something or someone is there. If the dog returns without barking, then the handler can feel safe about entering the room. This task is especially helpful in public areas where a space is supposed to be vacant.
Find Help
Psychiatric service dogs can also be trained to seek help during crisis situations. For example, if a handler passes out or if they are having an uncontrollable panic attack, a PSD can fetch a bystander or a first responder and lead them to the right place. This is particularly helpful if the handler is hidden from view.
Bring Medication
Psychiatric service dogs can also bring medication as part of a daily schedule or during an emergency. Individuals with PTSD often have anti-anxiety drugs that may be needed if they hyperventilate, and when severe symptoms strike, they may be unable to reach their medication.
PSDs can be trained to know the location of the handler’s medication and fetch it through special commands.
Emotional Support
On a general level, psychiatric service dogs also provide emotional support to their handlers. The presence of a dog can provide a great deal of comfort to someone who has high anxiety levels. PSDs can also provide support if a handler panics in public or if they experience bouts of severe depression.
Transition Skills
Psychiatric service dogs can also help individuals from one stage of life to another. For example, military veterans may have been accustomed to giving commands over a period of many years. Following their service, they may find it difficult to readjust to regular life, especially while going through PTSD.
Because dogs are naturally loyal and obedient, the act of giving a command can be a helpful way to transition from combat life to civilian life. As well as being task-oriented, these commands can also be entertaining — such as teaching them tricks.
Benefits of a Psychiatric Service Dog for PTSD
Aside from the vital skills that psychiatric service dogs provide for people with PTSD, there are other concrete benefits. Living with these uniquely trained animals offers numerous advantages that are worth considering.
PSDs Are Trained to Look Out for Changes in Emotional States
As mentioned above, a PSD not only calms someone during an anxiety attack, but they can also spot them before they’re noticeable. These dogs are trained to act when they sense changes in their handler’s emotional states and when they see specific behaviors such as fidgeting or twitching.
People who are curious about getting a PSD can be comforted by the fact that these dogs will be able to sense, interrupt, and redirect your attention if you have a panic attack. Most of all, you can rest assured knowing they will soothe you by providing physical contact such as nestling up. They can also use their paws or snout to block you from hurting yourself during an anxious episode.
PSDs Can Alert a Handler to Sounds
Individuals who are having an anxiety attack or a flashback may be unable to hear important sounds in their environment. For instance, if a handler is too distraught to notice a smoke alarm, then the dog can bark or take action to calm them down. These dogs are also trained to lead a person out of danger by nudging or biting them on the sleeve or pant leg.
PSDs Can Help Prevent Substance Abuse
Many individuals with PTSD end up with addiction or substance abuse problems as a way to mask uncomfortable symptoms. The benefit of having a psychiatric service dog is that they can help prevent this behavior by providing healthy distractions and comfort during difficult times.
Rather than reach for drugs or alcohol, a handler can learn how to redirect their attention towards the dog and cope with their feelings in a different way.
PSDS Provide Confidence to Their Handlers
Many people with PTSD live in constant fear, which can erode their confidence to carry out simple daily tasks such as getting out of bed or going to the grocery store. PSDs can help break this cycle of fear by helping the handler perform tasks that seem difficult or insurmountable.
By receiving support and comfort from the PSD, the handler can regain their confidence and realize that their condition can be overcome.
Applying for a Psychiatric Service Dog
If you feel that you would benefit from a psychiatric service dog, you can contact your medical doctor or get in touch with organizations such as US Service Animals (USSA), who will connect you with a doctor directly. The first step is to obtain a letter of recommendation from a medical provider who can state the reasons why a PSD would be a beneficial treatment option for you.
Once you’ve been approved, you can apply for a psychiatric service dog at any service animal agency in your city or state. If you need more information about this process, you can get in touch with USSA as they understand the legal process and the requirements that are needed to obtain one of these special animals.
Final Thoughts on Psychiatric Service Dogs for PTSD
Psychiatric service dogs provide an invaluable service, especially to those who are struggling with mental health conditions like PTSD. By providing comfort, security, and protection, PSDs enable handlers to gain control of their lives without living in constant fear. Not only can PSDs perform complex duties and aid a person through multiple situations, but these magnificent creatures also provide hope and support to people who struggle with daily tasks.
However, like all animal-human relationships, acquiring a psychiatric service dog is also a big commitment. Before you take that all-important step, it is worth discussing it with your doctor and with animal service agencies to find out what’s involved and whether it would suit your circumstances. It’s also worth reviewing the criteria and the financial commitments to make sure you’re fully prepared.