Emotional Support Animals

Student works on a laptop while petting their small dog

At Boynton Health, we believe that having an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is a mental health modality we support only when multiple other treatments have been tried and have not been successful in mitigating the impact of a mental health disability.

Our Guiding Principles

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) have an impact not only on the person who owns the animal, but on the animal that is being asked to function in this role. Additionally, there remains insufficient research to indicate the use of ESAs in treating mental health conditions. In very rare situations, your provider may consider writing a letter for an ESA. 

This may require a team consultation to determine the medical necessity of the animal, and confirm that other avenues of treatment have first been tried and have not been successful.

Be advised, students are expected to consult with their provider ahead of time to determine if an ESA is considered an appropriate option. Acquiring an animal with the assumption your provider will then approve it as an ESA is an inappropriate use of our services at Boynton Mental Health and may interfere with our ability to approve an ESA.