Keep your animal, and keep your home.
I am Brandy Roggentien, a licensed clinical social worker in Santa Clarita. For 25 years I have worked with people whose mental health improved because of an animal, and I document that need in a way housing providers accept.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) #22723, California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Telehealth across California. Monday to Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm Pacific.
- 25+ yearsIn clinical practice
- 6,000+Support-animal assessments completed
- #22723California LCSW license
- 30 daysRelationship California law requires
The problem
A certificate bought online is the easiest thing for a landlord to refuse.
People arrive here after a property manager has rejected something they paid for in good faith.
The pattern repeats. You search for help, you find a site that promises an instant approval, you pay, and a PDF arrives with a registration number and a plastic ID card for your dog. Then the leasing office asks who the clinician is, how long they have treated you, and what their license number is. The answers do not exist, and you are back where you started with less money and less time.
There is no official registry or certificate for an emotional support animal, in California or anywhere else. Any website selling you a registration, an ID card or a certificate is selling a novelty item.
What does carry weight is a clinical relationship with a licensed practitioner who evaluated you, and who can stand behind the document when someone asks.
What I do
Three ways people work with me.
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Emotional support animal assessment
For people whose anxiety, mood or daily functioning improves because of an animal at home, and who need that documented for housing.
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Psychiatric service dog assessment
For people whose dog is trained to perform specific tasks that reduce the effects of a psychiatric disability, with the wider access rights that carries.
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Short-term therapy
Focused sessions by phone or video for a specific problem, drawing on cognitive behavioral and trauma-informed practice.
How it works
Four steps, over about a month.
The timeline is set by California law, so I build the weeks into the work rather than around it.
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A first conversation
You call or message me directly. We talk about what has been happening, what your animal does for you, and whether an assessment is the right path. If it is not, I will say so.
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Clinical evaluation
A proper intake: your history, your current symptoms, how they affect sleep, work, study and relationships, and the specific role your animal plays in managing them.
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The relationship California requires
We continue to meet while the 30-day window runs. This is the part the instant-letter sites skip, and it is the part that makes your documentation defensible.
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Your documentation
If the clinical picture supports it, I issue a letter carrying my license type, number and jurisdiction, the date our relationship began, and confirmation of the evaluation. I complete landlord verification forms at no extra charge.
What colleagues and clients say
Two of these are from other clinicians.
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Brandy is an incredibly powerful therapist. She is direct and always comes with solutions to issues clients struggle to see.
Joan KnowldenLMFT, CTS
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Brandy is an incredibly brilliant, compassionate, intuitive therapist that is extraordinarily engaging with all age groups.
Dr. Lance SteinbergMD
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She is wonderful to work through my life struggles with. Her calm presence, depth of knowledge, and willingness to go above and beyond are unparalleled.
Karen T.Client
Questions people ask first
Straight answers.
How fast can I get an ESA letter in California?
Not today, and not tonight. Since January 2022, California has required a licensed practitioner to hold a client-provider relationship with you for at least 30 days, and to complete a clinical evaluation, before issuing documentation for an emotional support animal. Any site promising a letter within the hour is describing something California law does not recognize.
I start the clock on your first appointment. We use those weeks properly.
Will my landlord accept the letter?
A housing provider is entitled to reliable documentation from someone who actually knows you. Mine carries my license type, my license number, the issuing jurisdiction, the date our relationship began, and confirmation that I evaluated you. That is what California asks for, and it is what a property manager checks.
If your landlord sends a verification form, I complete it at no extra charge.
Do I have to tell my landlord what my diagnosis is?
No. Your diagnosis is protected health information. A housing provider may ask whether you have a disability-related need for the animal and may ask for reliable documentation of it. They are not entitled to your records or your diagnosis.
Can my emotional support animal fly with me?
Assume no. US airlines have not been required to treat emotional support animals as service animals since the Department of Transportation rewrote its rules in December 2020. Most carriers now handle them as pets, with pet fees and carrier rules. A trained psychiatric service dog is treated differently and travels in the cabin, usually with the DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form submitted in advance.
What if you decide I do not qualify?
Then I will tell you, and I will not write the letter. An assessment is a clinical judgment, not a purchase. If your symptoms do not meet the standard, I would rather say so than hand you a document that puts you in a difficult position later.
Start the conversation
A short, free phone call to see whether an assessment makes sense for you. No pressure, and no promises about the outcome before I have met you.