Going to college or university can be very hard and incredibly stressful. Living away from home, whether it’s out of state or in state, can raise your stress levels in new ways. On top of experiencing potentially living away from your family for the first time, attending classes and working with professors to keep your GPA up is also arduous.

As health experts learn more and more about stress and ways to combat it efficiently, we’re seeing a rise in understanding when it comes to animals and their effects on people. Many people recognize now that there can be emotional support animals to help people mentally. But what does that mean for college and university students who are living in dorms or college housing? Can they have their emotional support animals actually live with them? These are some of the questions about ESA we’ll answer in this article.

Are emotional support animals allowed to live with students in dorms?

Since the new amendments added to the Fair Housing Actand the Rehabilitation Act, the federal government has stated that animals that are registered as emotional support animals must be allowed into college housing units.

While this is great news, there are some legal issues you must take note of if you’re thinking of bringing your registered emotional support animals with you to college.

What you need to know

To obtain a emotional support animal, you must be diagnosed with a mental illness or an anxiety related issue by a doctor. Examples of these illnesses are, but are not limited to:

• Depression
• Stress Disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Phobias
• Personality Disorders
• Panic Disorders
• Anxiety Disorders

Many people seem to think that an ESA (an emotional support animal) has to go through proper training like other registered animals for other circumstances. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. There is no proper training that an animal has to do in order to become an ESA. What you do need is a letter from a licensed mental health professional stating that an ESA would be beneficial for mental well-being of the patient.

Your animal also needs to be trained on how to act when a patient may be in a crisis mode. You can teach your animal this, or you can seek out professional help.

Step by step guide on how to get an ESA

• Be aware of whether you need emotional help in any way
• Seek out a doctor, therapist, or any form of professional help
• Officially get a diagnosis from a doctor or professional in the given field
• Once diagnosed, have your doctor fill out an official ESA form or letter
• Find an animal (mostly dogs) that you would like to be an ESA
• Train this animal yourself or find a professional that can train your ESA
• After training, get your animal certified and registered so that both of you can experience full benefits of having an official ESA

If you feel you need an ESA, make sure you follow the proper guidelines talked about in depth above. While you don’t have to register your animal, it is always a good idea to so that you can gain the full benefits of having a certified ESA.

College can be incredibly stressful and frustrating - and living in university housing can really increase stress levels. However, because of the amendments that the federal government has passed, you can bring your certified ESA to your dorm or housing unit during your stay in college dorms!