"From Pigs To Peacocks, What’s Up With Those ‘Emotional-Support Animals’?" - Dennis Thompson
It's easy to roll your eyes at the latest news nugget about someone trying to take an "emotional support animal" onto a plane, even though it's too big or out of control. There's the large emotional support peacock that was denied a seat aboard a United Airlines flight in January, for example. Or the young girl who was bitten by an emotional support dog while boarding a Southwest Airlines flight in February. But concern is mounting over people's asserted need for emotional support animals, as more seek accommodations for their pets and livestock in places not designed for bird or beast. Elizabeth Ochoa, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and chief psychologist of Mount Sinai Beth Israel said that there’s “a lack of empirical research on the efficacy of reducing mental health distress and improving daily life functioning with the use of emotional support animals.” But, Dr. Ochoa added, anecdotal reports have shown that the animals can provide benefit to some people.
- Elizabeth Ochoa, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Chief Psychologist, Mount Sinai Beth Israel
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