Most people know about seeing-eye dogs for
the visually impaired, but what about service dogs to help
people with mental illnesses?
Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs) -- a relatively
new phenomenon -- are dogs that are individually trained to
work or perform tasks for individuals living with mental illnesses.
Although there is little research into the
effectiveness of PSDs for people with mental illness, Aaron
Katcher, M.D., emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University
of Pennsylvania, has examined the interaction between animals
and people. He has found "much evidence that social support
is a critical variable in the recovery from many serious biological
disorders including psychiatric illnesses."
Tasks PSDs can be trained to perform include:
- Remind handler to take medication on
time
- Warm handler's body during a panic attack
- Interrupt repetitive behaviors
- Attend to handler during emotional distress
- Accompany handler outside of the home
- Provide discernment against hallucination
- Mitigate paranoia with reality testing
To find out more about PSDs, visit
The Psychiatric
Service Dog Society Web site. PSDS
provides information for persons living with severe mental
illness who wish to train a service dog to assist with the
management of symptoms.
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