Who Can Write an ESA Letter? How to Ask Doctor for Emotional Support Animal? In this article we explain how to approach your doctor for a letter, what the letter should contain and provide an ESA letter sample.
Who Can Write an ESA Letter?
If you think that you need an ESA, you should get a letter for your emotional support animal. Online services might seem better because they offer affordability and convenience, but they might end up getting you in trouble. Make sure that you get a legitimate ESA letter to avoid problems.
Do You Have an Emotional Disability?
Before you even think about getting a letter, you should ask yourself whether you have an emotional disability. Of course, having the right documentation means that you will get more opportunities and benefits when you are with your pet but if you do not have an emotional disability, getting a letter will be next to impossible. Since mental health professionals can spot symptoms easily, you need to visit one.
If you truly believe that an emotional support animal will be beneficial, you should talk to your mental health doctor about it.
How to Ask Doctor for Emotional Support Animal?
If you have lived with an emotional or mental health disability for a while, chances are that you already have a psychiatrist or therapist. In such an instance, all you have to do is book an appointment with your doctor and bring up your need for an ESA. If you do not know whether you have a mental disability, you should book an appointment with a psychiatrist to determine whether an ESA will be helpful.
If you do not know any good mental health doctors, you should do some research for online psychiatrists. Once you find a reputable therapist, you should visit his or her office to get the right diagnosis. Knowing whether people have an emotional issue is not easy, which means that you might have to see the doctor several times before you receive a diagnosis.
Getting an ESA Letter
If you are in touch with a therapist, you should explain to him or her why you think you need an emotional support animal.
Your ESA letter needs to have the following:
- The signature, letter head of the mental health professional.
- The date of issuance, state that issued the license, license number, and type of license that your mental health professional has.
- Confirmation that your mental health condition is affecting your daily activities and that an ESA will improve it significantly.
Prescription for an Emotional Support Animal
- Description of how an ESA will alleviate your condition.
- Your name as well as the pet’s details: breed, name, and type.
- An evaluation of how fit you are to care for the ESA.
Getting an ESA Letter Online
By law, the person who hands you the ESA letter needs to be a professional who works in mental health. You need to know that some sites give fake letters, so you should be careful when getting yours online. In the same vein, it is not possible to purchase a registered ESA from someone else.
If a website does not connect you with a professional doctor, then you should know it is fraudulent. However, if the site you are using offers quick and easy communication with a licensed therapist, you are in the right place. You should not just take their word for it; make sure that you do your own research to find out if the therapist is licensed. If the doctor agrees that you need an ESA, your letter will arrive in paper and electronic form to your address.
Once you get an ESA letter, you will be able to fly with your pet at no extra cost. Moreover, you can live in houses that do not usually allow pets and save by not paying monthly pet fees.
ESA Letter Sample
A shout out to TherapyPet who provided this ESA letter sample for us:
DATE
NAME OF THE LICENSED PROFESSIONAL (doctor, therapist, rehabilitation counselor, psychiatrist)
ADDRESS
Dear (to whom it may concern)
(Name of the ESA owner/handler) is my patient, and has been under my care since (DATE). I am intimately aware of his/her medical history and functional restrictions brought by his/her mental condition. He/she meets the definition of disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Fair Housing Act.
As a result of mental illness, (FIRST NAME OF THE PATIENT) has certain limitations related to (anxiety, depression, social interaction, phobias, etc.). In order to assist in alleviating these difficulties, and to improve their ability to lead a better life while fully enjoying and using the dwelling unit you own and/or manage, I am prescribing an ESA prescription letter that will help (FIRST NAME OF THE PATIENT)in dealing with his/her disability better.
I am very much aware of the voluminous professional literature related to the therapeutic benefits of emotional support animals for individuals with mental disabilities, such as that faced by (FIRST NAME OF THE PATIENT). Upon request, I will share quotations to relevant studies and would be more than willing to answer any questions that you may have regarding my recommendation that (FULL NAME OF THE ESA OWNER/HANDLER) should have an emotional support animal. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.
