Dogs have been helping humans for thousands of years. They've been protecting people and property, they've been helping with the livestock or during the hunt and they've been keeping people company. When there is a disaster, there are canines that help finding and rescuing victims. People who are blind often have a furry friend to lead the way. In recent years, many people with mental health problems have been getting a new kind of helping paw from their psychiatric service dog.
A dog that works in mental-health service is trained specifically to help people with psychological disorders or problems. These include post-traumatic stress disorder, agoraphobia, anxiety and panic disorders, mood disorders like depression as well as autism. Some of these conditions can be just as debilitating as serious physical injury or illness and trained dogs can help patients live their daily lives with more ease. They can even help to improve people's mental health.
A dog trained to provide psychiatric service has many different tasks. For instance, it reminds the person to take his or her medication, it wakes the person up in the mornings and it helps the person to cope with going out into the world. It can sense when certain symptoms of the disorder are getting worse, for example when the person is getting a panic attack, and knows what to do in these situations.
When it comes to provide service to mental-health patients, the canine breed isn't important, even though smaller breeds are better for practical purposes. What matters is the individual animal's temperament. It should be able to focus on what it needs to do without getting distracted. More importantly, it should be reliable and shouldn't become panicked or flustered too easily.
The animal does not only support the patient emotionally, like a therapy dog does. Its main task is to support the patient in practical ways. It is also trained to serve a specific individual and not a variety of people.
Part of what increases the therapeutic value of having a service animal for someone with mental-health issues is that it provides companionship. The patient feels as if he or she matters, so feelings of worthlessness and isolation are weakened. The animal doesn't judge either, but provides added incentive for the patient to get up, since dogs need food and exercise.
A certified service animal wears a vest that shows that it's working and isn't simply someone's pet. Business owners or transport providers cannot refuse such an animal entry to the premises on the grounds that pets aren't allowed. There are some ground rules for the general public to follow too when it comes to these animals. They shouldn't be distracted by strangers trying to pet or feed them, for instance.
Since it's still a relatively new concept, it may be difficult to find a psychiatric service dog. There are only a handful of institutions that train these animals and getting a trained animal can be very expensive. However, the benefits of having one of these animals are enormous. This is why many people train their own dogs with the help of a skilled trainer.
A dog that works in mental-health service is trained specifically to help people with psychological disorders or problems. These include post-traumatic stress disorder, agoraphobia, anxiety and panic disorders, mood disorders like depression as well as autism. Some of these conditions can be just as debilitating as serious physical injury or illness and trained dogs can help patients live their daily lives with more ease. They can even help to improve people's mental health.
A dog trained to provide psychiatric service has many different tasks. For instance, it reminds the person to take his or her medication, it wakes the person up in the mornings and it helps the person to cope with going out into the world. It can sense when certain symptoms of the disorder are getting worse, for example when the person is getting a panic attack, and knows what to do in these situations.
When it comes to provide service to mental-health patients, the canine breed isn't important, even though smaller breeds are better for practical purposes. What matters is the individual animal's temperament. It should be able to focus on what it needs to do without getting distracted. More importantly, it should be reliable and shouldn't become panicked or flustered too easily.
The animal does not only support the patient emotionally, like a therapy dog does. Its main task is to support the patient in practical ways. It is also trained to serve a specific individual and not a variety of people.
Part of what increases the therapeutic value of having a service animal for someone with mental-health issues is that it provides companionship. The patient feels as if he or she matters, so feelings of worthlessness and isolation are weakened. The animal doesn't judge either, but provides added incentive for the patient to get up, since dogs need food and exercise.
A certified service animal wears a vest that shows that it's working and isn't simply someone's pet. Business owners or transport providers cannot refuse such an animal entry to the premises on the grounds that pets aren't allowed. There are some ground rules for the general public to follow too when it comes to these animals. They shouldn't be distracted by strangers trying to pet or feed them, for instance.
Since it's still a relatively new concept, it may be difficult to find a psychiatric service dog. There are only a handful of institutions that train these animals and getting a trained animal can be very expensive. However, the benefits of having one of these animals are enormous. This is why many people train their own dogs with the help of a skilled trainer.
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