Here we celebrate personal stories about how PSDP’s activities, resources, and community have enriched the lives of those who have taken an active role in mitigating their disabling mental illness.
Under the videos, you can click on the names to read any story that interests you, or start at the beginning and click through from story to story.
If you’re interested in how community members have taken the initiative to help the PSDP community, be sure not to miss our Community Member Spotlight section elsewhere.
After fighting with my illness for over 30 years, I have tried multiple meds and multiple kinds of treatments. Some have worked. Some have not. As somebody who has trained dogs for many jobs, I started investigating to see if a service dog was right for me…
I am rather new to the service dog world, having been diagnosed with PTSD only in 2013…I was a virtual hermit for the past seven years. The prospect of getting back out in the world again was both exciting and scary…
…I was cautious because I didn’t think I qualified, especially since I was 23 and had “survived” that long without one…but I have a trainer who explained to me that under the laws in Ontario, I qualified to work with a service dog. I just needed lots of help with tips and information about living with a service dog…
…When I brought home my psychiatric service dog prospect, I thought I had researched everything possible…I spent so much time picking the perfect puppy, a qualified trainer, a great vet, and all of the puppy supplies I thought I would need. Then, things started to happen I was not prepared for…
…I live with Bipolar Disorder I with psychotic episodes and PTSD. I was able to owner-train my SD Iris to mitigate the multiple, disabling symptoms of my condition with the advice of the people on the PSDP list group and local training resources…
Especially living in Montana…knowing that there is credible support has meant the world to me. I went from never owning a dog to having a dog that partnered with me as a therapy animal and subsequently my first service dog. At the time I only knew the very basics about service dogs…
I’ve recently gotten a service dog prospect, a very active puppy named Peregrine…I thought that with 35 years of dog training experience and 10 years of service dog training experience, taking on a puppy would be easy. It’s turning out to be a much bigger challenge than I ever imagined…
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