Jolanda’s daughter went into hospital, out of hospital. “We have been busy for two years now with a care program for my daughter’s eating disorder and five years with her psychological problems. At a certain point you are so tired of the long waiting times, doctors who contradict each other and new medicines every time. “
Jolanda and daughter Yentl (21) heard last year about assistance dogs, intended for young people from 16 years of age with an eating disorder, PTSD, autism or a combination thereof. After being on the waiting list for ten months, Yentl plans to train her own puppy to become her service dog in about two years. She receives intensive coaching and guidance.
“Every euro helps”
Jolanda: “In regular care, there is nothing left for my daughter. 10,000 euros is a lot of money, but if it gives her quality of life, I want to spend that money on her health.” The family does not have the money on the shelf, so a crowdfunding has started, via website whydonate.nl. “Every little bit helps and I am very grateful to everyone”, Yentl added.
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Niels Corver, co-founder of Why Donate, is seeing more and more young people like Yentl. “We have dozens of actions a year to raise money for a service dog for someone with mental health problems. Often it is several thousand euros and the actions are successfully financed. It is something of the last two years, says Corver.” I you can’t give exact numbers, but I can see it growing. ”
Website GoFundMe.nl wants to give those numbers and speaks of a ‘huge increase’. In 2018 there were six so-called ‘campaigns’ for assistance dogs for people with mental health problems, in 2019 there were eleven and in 2020 so far thirty.
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Difference with ‘normal’ dog
WEET, the Dutch patients’ association for eating disorders, has spoken to several (ex-) patients who say they have (or have benefited) from a service dog. There are also regular emails from parties that train such a service dog. Board member Casper Lopes Cardozo: “It seems plausible that a dog can help for eating disorder patients, but for us the question is what distinguishes an assistance dog from an ordinary dog.”
According to Lopes Cardozo, the experience stories show that a sense of responsibility plays a major role; you have something to take care of and that is not possible if you are too weak yourself, are in the hospital, or worse. It is also important that you have to walk a dog, so that you get out of the house every day and keep in contact with others. “And a dog does not judge, we often hear. Well, these are of course all things that also apply to a normal dog, so we are very curious about what else a service dog can do.”
Often ‘complex’ patients
People with an eating disorder very often have a combination with, for example, trauma, anxiety disorders, autism or depression. The use of an assistance dog has been discussed for some time in these conditions. Comorbidity (having multiple disorders) seems to be the rule rather than the exception in eating disorders.
Board member Lopes Cardozo: “That makes you a ‘complex’ patient and the care system is not designed for this, so that these people often get stuck in treatment processes and waiting lists. If a service dog can make a difference, we of course warmly welcome that.”
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Looking for scientific evidence
No scientific research has yet been conducted into the effect of service dogs in young people with an eating disorder or other mental health problems. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University is currently studying what service dogs do for veterans with PTSD who have already had many different treatments.
Assistant Professor Nienke Endenburg: “We hear many success stories from this group. What we are particularly interested in is: does such a service dog have an added value over a normal dog? Because training those dogs costs a lot of money. What we also want to know: can we scientifically prove that such a service dog makes sense? And thirdly, what does it do to a dog to be constantly with someone with psychological complaints? “
Endenburg also notices that attention is increasingly being paid to service dogs for people with psychological problems. She sees that a lot of crowdfunding is being done. “If we can make it clear that it makes a lot of sense, for example that people need less medication or their quality of life increases, then I think that insurers or municipality should reimburse all or a large part of the dog’s training.”
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This rarely happens in young people with an eating disorder or other psychological problems. A few dozen municipalities sometimes want to pay a part through the social support law, says Dutch Assistance Dogs, a foundation that trains assistance dogs for that target group and sees the demand for it increase.
Gabi Schulenburg (19) must like most crowdfunding. She paid the first half of the training herself and now asks 5000 euros in donations. Next month she hopes to get a certificate with her service dog Mellow. This completes the training of almost two years.
‘Mellow pulls out all the stops for me’
Could an ‘ordinary dog’ also support her as well as Mellow does now? She doesn’t think so. “For me, the difference with a service dog is very big. A normal dog is not allowed to enter anywhere, so entering into your fears outdoors is almost impossible. If I have a reliving experience and therefore panic, Mellow will bark, scratch or lick me He pulls out all the stops until I’m back in the here and now. “
She dares to say that Mellow has made her life livable again. A life that was all about her trauma, depression and the eating disorder. Exactly the hope that Jolanda has for her daughter Yentl.
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Questions about an eating disorder?
Do you have any questions about this article that you would like to discuss with a recovered experience expert? Then you can call the helpline of WEET, the Dutch patient association for eating disorders. More info on ww.weet.info of bel 085-1304617.
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