Psychiatric service dogs are one of the best treatments, if not the best, for people who have mental health disabilities. You’ll find that they can help with a lot of tasks, and these dogs tend to help with anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and much more. That said, you’re probably curious about the tasks that a psychiatric service dog can help you with.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. We take you through a comprehensive psychiatric service dog task list. Read on to learn everything you need to know below.
What Is a Psychiatric Service Dog?
Psychiatric service dogs are a unique type of service animal. They’re dogs that are trained to help someone with a specific mental health disability. You’ll find that they provide treatment by providing comfort, but they can also help people who are unable to complete specific tasks. What’s more, they can do simple things, like remind someone when it’s time to take medication.
Psychiatric service dogs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), along with the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). These laws ensure that psychiatric service dogs can help people in their homes, public spaces, and on airlines.
Psychiatric Service Dog Task List
Psychiatric service dogs can help with many tasks. Below, we take you through some common tasks that they can help you with. While we take you through common tasks, you’ll find that there are even more psychiatric service dog tasks.
1. Help with Medications
One of the most common tasks that you’ll see psychiatric service dogs helping with is related to medications. You’ll find that service dogs can help you find medication, fetch them for you, and even remind you when it’s time to take them.
Even in the event of a panic attack or seizure, psychiatric service dogs can help you administer medication or fetch help.
2. Offer Guidance
There are a few ways in which psychiatric service dogs can offer guidance. First and foremost, they can guide someone away from potential triggers of PTSD. In the event that PTSD is triggered or any other type of panic attack, psychiatric service dogs can guide people home, through crowds, or towards help.
Psychiatric service dogs can also block crowds and guide others away from someone in situations with social anxiety.
3. Provide Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT)
Deep pressure therapy involves applying pressure to specific parts of someone’s body to help them calm down. This can be a specific point, but it can also be as simple as a psychiatric service dog lying on your lap.
Deep pressure therapy can be applied during panic attacks, but this isn’t the only time, and you’ll find that having a canine companion sit on your lap is generally calming.
4. Redirect and Interrupt
Psychiatric service dogs can also help with more niche tasks, like preventing someone from picking their skin. A great example of this is someone who struggles with OCD, which can result in picking skin or nails, and psychiatric service dogs can help by interrupting their behavior in other ways.
Psychiatric service dogs can also offer assistance by redirecting someone’s energy. If they notice a panic attack coming on, they can bring a toy and distract someone.
5. Find Help
Finally, psychiatric service dogs are able to find help for those in need. In public spaces, psychiatric service dogs can find help if someone is having a panic attack or seizure.
However, psychiatric service dogs can also help when you’re in your home. They can contact the authorities using your phone or another specific device.
Final Thoughts on Our Psychiatric Service Dog Task List
At the end of the day, you’ll find that there aren’t many limits to things that service dogs can help you with. While we covered most of what you’ll find on a psychiatric service dog task list, you can also train them for unique and niche tasks based on your needs. In fact, service dogs are trained to mesh well with you and your needs, so a lot of this is built into the training process already.
That said, always consult with a licensed mental health professional before getting started to determine if a psychiatric service dog is right for you.