Breakout #4ab- Practice Guidelines for Emotional Support Animals

Presenters: Janet Hoy-Gerlach and Aviva Vincent

3 CEUs for social work, counseling, marriage & family therapists, and chemical dependency

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are companion animals without any special training, who are denoted in writing by a licensed mental health professional to be a therapeutic necessity for someone living with a mental health condition that meets the legal definition of a disability. ESAs are recognized within federal disability legislation, with limited rights to those who have ESAs as accommodations for mental health disabilities. The aim of this session is to review empirical and theoretical literature, discuss how and why ESAs benefit people living with mental health disabilities, and provide emergent best practices and guidelines for designating and documenting ESA.

More information: https://www.naswoh.org/page/breakouts19