Compassionate, Professional Evaluations to determine if an emotional support animal may be an appropriate part of your mental health care.
An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) evaluation is a clinical assessment completed by a licensed mental health professional to determine whether an ESA may be appropriate to support your mental health needs.
During the evaluation, we will discuss your current symptoms, mental health history, and how an emotional support animal may or may not be beneficial as part of your treatment plan.
LPC, LCDC
Compassionate care with a focus on holistic wellness and individualized assessments.
MA, LPC-A
Supportive and client-centered care to help you feel heard and understood.
Complete required consent forms and an ESA questionnaire.
Complete the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and trauma screening measures.
Meet with a licensed clinician to discuss your symptoms, mental health history, functioning, and need for an ESA.
Your evaluator determines whether an ESA is clinically appropriate.
If clinical criteria are met, the provider will prepare the supporting documentation.
An emotional support animal provides comfort and emotional stability to individuals with mental health conditions but does not require specialized training. In contrast, a service animal is specifically trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability, such as guiding someone who is blind or alerting someone who is deaf. Service animals are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and are allowed in most public places. Emotional support animals do not have the same legal access rights as service animals.
Our private pay rate is $200.
We do not accept insurance for ESA assessments.
No. Completing an ESA assessment does not guarantee that a letter will be issued. Your clinician will determine whether an emotional support animal is clinically appropriate based on the results of your evaluation. We are also unable to provide a letter for an animal that has exhibited a pattern of aggressive or dangerous behavior.
No. If you are currently receiving therapy at KBC, your ESA assessment must be completed by a different qualified clinician. This helps ensure that the evaluation is completed independently and specifically for the purpose of determining whether an ESA is clinically appropriate.
No, please do not bring your animal to the appointment. We only need to evaluate your mental health history, not the animal itself.
An ESA (Emotional Support Animal) letter can support a request for reasonable accommodation in housing, including housing that may otherwise restrict or prohibit pets. When an emotional support animal qualifies as a disability-related accommodation, housing providers generally may not charge pet fees or pet deposits for the animal.
An ESA letter does not give your animal the same public-access rights as a trained service animal. Emotional support animals are not automatically permitted in restaurants, stores, airplanes, or other public places where pets are not allowed.
Most ESA assessments take approximately one to two hours to complete.
If your clinician determines that an ESA letter is clinically appropriate, your completed letter will typically be provided by the next business day following your assessment.
If your clinician determines that an ESA letter is clinically appropriate, your completed letter will typically be provided by the next business day following your assessment.
Our licensed clinicians provide thoughtful, professional evaluations to determine whether an emotional support animal may be appropriate for your mental health needs.
