杏吧原创

Emotional Support Animal Letters

The EIU Counseling Clinic does not formally prescribe emotional support animals (ESA), make final ESA determinations, nor does the EIU Counseling Clinic accept new clients who are solely looking for an ESA. Students solely seeking an ESA recommendation will be encouraged to seek recommendations from current or past off-campus service providers/clinicians.  If the student does not have a past or current clinician available to make an ESA recommendation, they should seek appropriate counseling services off campus necessary to acquire an ESA recommendation. Additionally, it is not ethical for counselors to write ESA letters or complete paperwork simply to allow clients to bring pets to non-pet friendly housing and override animal restrictions. 

There may be extenuating circumstances in which an EIU counselor has an existing relationship with a student and may prescribe an ESA rather than jeopardizing the client/counselor relationship and referring the student to another provider. In these situations, the counselor must get approval from the Associate Director before prescribing an ESA. 

Determining the appropriateness of an ESA requires a strong therapeutic relationship with your counselor and clear clinical justification. Counselors must evaluate multiple factors, including the severity of a client’s mental health condition, whether an ESA would reduce specific symptoms, and whether it would enhance functioning. Ethical and legal considerations are also critical, especially since ESAs are not a replacement for mental health treatment and, in some cases, may unintentionally prolong or worsen symptoms if used in place of therapy.

Students may be asked to renew their ESA paperwork each academic year. Students are encouraged to talk to their counselor about ESA renewal to determine if an ESA is still a necessary part of treatment to mitigate mental health related symptoms. 

For more information on EIU's Emotional Support Animal Policies, please visit the Office of Accommodations and Accessibility website.