At a glance
- Conducts evaluations
- Gabriel Warner, LCSW
- Reviews and signs letters
- Andrew Patel, M.D.
- Medical review of site content
- Andrew Patel, M.D.
- Printed on each letter
- Name, license type and number, licensing state, date
Who evaluates ESA letter requests
Gabriel Warner, LCSW, is licensed in clinical social work, so he is a therapist trained to assess and treat emotional, behavioral and mental health conditions. He handles the mental health evaluations behind ESA letter requests and issues a letter when one is warranted.
On a short call (5 to 10 minutes, phone or video), the therapist asks what symptoms you have, how they affect ordinary days and what your animal does for you. The aim is a genuine clinical judgment rather than a rubber stamp.
Who reviews and signs ESA letters
Our physician is Andrew Patel, M.D. He goes over evaluations and signs an ESA letter when the clinical findings back it up. He also serves as medical reviewer for the material published on this site, making sure the health information is accurate and fair.
How our ESA therapists share the work
Each of our two therapists has a separate job. Gabriel Warner builds the clinical picture during your evaluation, and Andrew Patel looks over what was found and signs when the findings support an ESA.
Dividing the work this way keeps your conversation brief and on point while giving the decision a second clinical review. In every case, the person who signs is named on your letter, along with license details anyone can check.
Only the therapists make clinical decisions; support and marketing staff have no say. What helps most is telling the therapist plainly how things are for you, since a letter is only useful when it reflects a real need.
What a therapist's license tells you
Physicians and clinical social workers must be licensed in every state, and state boards set the education, supervised practice and exams each must complete. That license is what gives an ESA letter its credibility. Housing providers are allowed to request dependable documentation, for instance from a doctor or therapist, in cases where your disability, or why you need the animal, isn't obvious.
For that reason, our letters show the therapist's name, the type and number of their license, which state granted it, and a date. Either you or your housing provider can confirm those details through the board that licensed the therapist.
What our ESA therapists can and can't do
Our therapists are able to assess whether an emotional support animal helps with a need connected to your disability and, when it does, to write a letter describing that need. They can't turn an animal into a service animal, grant an ESA access to public places, or force a landlord, school or airline to accept it.
If your dog has learned specific tasks connected to a psychiatric disability through individual training, a psychiatric service dog letter may be a better fit for your circumstances. Our ESA vs PSD guide walks through how the two differ.
- Each therapist makes an independent decision about whether a letter fits
- No letter issued means no charge to you
- Letters in California follow AB 468's 30-day relationship rule
- Evaluations happen only where our therapists are lawfully permitted to practice
ESA letters and continuing mental health care
An ESA evaluation answers one narrow question, and regular therapy or medical care is still needed alongside it. If you aren't receiving treatment yet, NIMH recommends beginning with your primary care provider or a mental health professional, for example a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker.
In a crisis, or when self-harm is on your mind, dial or text 988 and the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will answer. In an emergency, dial 911. An ESA letter is not a form of emergency care.
