An ESA letter can help those with a mental or emotional disability such as depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or any other recognized disability listed in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual 5 (DSM 5).
Any animal, of any age, can qualify as an ESA without having to undergo any specialized task training – a simple presence works to reduce the symptoms of a person's mental or emotional disability.
In order to obtain an ESA legally, a person must have a diagnosis of a mental or emotional disability included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 (DSM 5), as signed off by a licensed mental health professional.