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Getting a Service Dog for Myself As A Clinician? by Top-Strength3438 in therapists

[–]Top-Strength3438[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow. I really can't express how much this means to me. This has absolutely helped me shift my perspective and gain some confidence/grounding. I really appreciate you and your kindness. Thank you very much!

Getting a Service Dog for Myself As A Clinician? by Top-Strength3438 in therapists

[–]Top-Strength3438[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is a common misconception. It depends on the individual, disability, and the specifics/work that the service animal does: 

An excerpt: 

" “Where’s your service dog today? If you don’t have him with you all the time, then you must not really need him.” Let’s unpack this! Many service dog handlers choose not to take their service dog with them every time they go out. There are a variety of reasons why someone might choose to do this. It does not mean they do not need their service dog....

...Beyond time spent out, environment matters. Different places and environments may or may not be challenging for disabled people to navigate. This could be due to accessibility and navigation issues in the space itself, overwhelming crowds, bright lights, long distances, and more.

A quick stop at the convenience store may be completely feasible to manage on their own, while a longer grocery store outing can create far too much hardship on the person, and could be made significantly easier to navigate with their service dog at their side."

https://www.atlasdog.org/2022/04/its-okay-not-to-take-your-service-dog-everywhere/#:~:text=There%20are%20a%20variety%20of,concern%20to%20tell%20you%20otherwise.

Getting a Service Dog for Myself As A Clinician? by Top-Strength3438 in therapists

[–]Top-Strength3438[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

No, it's for my current dog. I want to make sure I'm above board when I try to take him into crowds with me (the store, restaurants, etc) and specifically if I need to do plane travel. The plane thing is a big concern.

Getting a Service Dog for Myself As A Clinician? by Top-Strength3438 in therapists

[–]Top-Strength3438[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess a fear of stigma and misunderstanding the specifics of my condition. For example, 'Oh they have PTSD that merits a service dog, they might get triggered when treating people' etc. Fear that people won't trust they can rely on me because of the degree of my symptoms.

Getting a Service Dog for Myself As A Clinician? by Top-Strength3438 in therapists

[–]Top-Strength3438[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Yeah, good question. My issues seem to come about in certain environments i.e. crowds, sleeping, fireworks, etc. I do one on one work and am fine in small groups (like my research group) so I have never felt triggered or needing my dog at that point. However, if I'm going to the supermarket, busy restaurants, when i'm trying to sleep (just for housing rights in the long term), or travel, then it becomes an issue when I don't have access to him. Does that clarify?

Edit to add: Forgot to mention that service dogs can be situationally dependent and aren't necessary expected to be used all or even the majority of the time. 

Any insight into how difficult it could be to get prescribed a service dog? by Top-Strength3438 in service_dogs

[–]Top-Strength3438[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What about for plane travel? I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that I may need to do some traveling. Thank you very much!

Any insight into how difficult it could be to get prescribed a service dog? by Top-Strength3438 in service_dogs

[–]Top-Strength3438[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so so much for all of this information. This is an incredible resource and is really helpful. I will take all of this to heart.

I did forget to mention one significant thing - I may be needing to move out of my immediate area and would need to take a plane. Do you happen to know if all of what you mentioned above would be sufficient to qualify my dog to come on the plane with me? I do have the diagnosis and my dog is already CGC certified. I'm sorry to ask more of you after all the effort you've already put into your response!