Training Psychiatric Service Dogs: Inmate Reflects on Lessons Learned

Healing Companions, a 501 (c)(3) organization, serves mentally ill residents of Northeast Ohio and changes the lives of shelter dogs – adopted and trained to become Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs), persons experiencing a mental disorder – providing them with a PSD, and inmates – who train the dogs and gain job skills and “soft skills” to help them obtain employment and contribute to the community upon release.

In this clip, you’ll hear from an inmate who trains shelter dogs their basic skills to be more adoptable and when qualified placed in our program to be trained their public access and task training as PSDs. He shares how the lessons learned to help the dogs have also helped him better manage his own symptoms of bi-polar depression.