Military Veterans Benefit from 24/7 Human-Canine Partnership
Perhaps you are wondering if you should get a service dog to assist with your psychiatric symptoms? Perhaps you live with PTSD, Major Depression, Panic Disorder, or other mental health diagnoses. Is a Service Dog the right therapeutic intervention for you? If you believe it is, then, should you train the dog yourself, or should you get one from a program that serves veterans? Here are a few things to consider.
One of the most valuable forms of assistance that a Psychiatric Service Dog (PSD) can provide is the dog’s ability to ‘cue’ to changes in your physiology that are indicative of oncoming episodes of mental illness or the fact that you are ‘triggered’ in a given situation. A dog’s ability to ‘cue’ to your physiology is entirely dependent upon the bond that is established in the context of 24/7 togetherness over the course of many months. Learning to recognize your service dog’s subtle cues is something that takes time. It is helpful if you have knowledgeable PSD handlers on hand who can give you some guidance on recognizing these critical cues.
If you get a PSD from a program, the dog will not be able to ‘cue’ to your physiology, as this cannot be taught by someone else. Your program dog will know how to perform some physical tasks that you may or may not need, but that’s all the dog will be able to do for you at the time of placement.
The Psychiatric Service Dog Society promotes the owner-trainer model because our twelve years of experience has demonstrated that owner-training produces a better PSD. There is no better way to get your PSD to cue to your physiology than raising and training the dog yourself. Our website is geared entirely to the owner-trainer. You should start the learning process by reading our FAQ.
We also encourage you to join our veterans-only listserv. Here you can network with other veterans who are living with PTSD and other mental health diagnoses and who are training their own PSD. To join this group we require a phone call. So, send us an email and let us know that you are a veteran who is interested in joining our veterans listserv. Provide your phone number and someone will call you back.
As you may have noticed, we are backlogged on our phone calls right now. We recently asked our veterans’ listserv members if anyone would be willing to help us return veterans’ phone calls. We received a robust response from our veteran members so we should be able to reduce this phone call back-log relatively soon. Please be patient as we maneuver into a more efficient system. In the meantime, enjoy the updated table for PSD assistance below. This table shows the forms of assistance that a PSD can provide to veterans with PTSD. It is intended to stimulate your own thinking about how a dog can assist you with your symptoms.
| PSD Assistance for Veterans with PTSD |
|---|
Symptom(s):
Assistive Behaviors
| Assistance Classification |
|---|
reclusiveness:
canine accompanies veteran outside the home | physical task |
night terrors:
dog wakes veteran (optional: turn on light) | physical task |
startle reaction:
canine-defined personal space perimeter | physical task |
forgetfulness:
canine medication reminder | physical task |
dissociative fugue:
'take me home' command | physical task |
hypervigilance:
search a room for the presence of humans | physical task |
neurochemical imbalance:
Team walks to stimulate endorphin production | physical task |
dissociative flashback:
tactile stimulation mediates sensory re-integration and orientation to time/place | physical task |
startle response:
alert to presence of others
(i.e., 'pop a corner' or 'watch my back’)
| work--leveraging a dog's natural senses |
dissociative spell:
canine interrupts | work--mind/body |
emotional regulation:
canine as therapeutic distraction | work--mind/body |
sensory overload:
canine as alternate focus | work--mind/body |
social withdrawal:
canine-facilitated interpersonal interaction | work--community integration |
lack of insight:
canine alert to emotional escalation | work-- leveraging a dog's natural senses (CBT) |
hypervigilance:
canine environmental threat assessment | work-- leveraging a dog's natural senses (CBT) |
hallucinations:
canine-facilitated reality testing | work-- leveraging a dog's natural senses (CBT) |
suicidal ideation:
'suicide prevention dog' | work—(CBT) |
| Note: CBT means ‘cognitive behavioral therapy’. This is a therapeutic technique that is often learned in a talk therapy setting and has been repeatedly demonstrated to be legitimate and efficacious. Applying cognitive behavioral skills to interactions with your PSD can produce powerful outcomes. |
About Us
