Missing School Should Not Prevent Seeking

Treatment July 24, 2014

For most adolescents, school is the place they spend the most time, energy and

attention. It is where they learn, socialize, eat, play, and make plans for their

future. When an adolescent is facing the possibility of needing a high level of care

for an eating disorder, school issues can become a barrier to

seeking inpatient/residential treatment. It can be devastating to imagine leaving

school (and all it represents) to focus on recovery of an illness. However,

it is possible for patients to maintain progress in their coursework while seeking

appropriate treatment. At Veritas Collaborative, patients are able to continue

working on their coursework from their schools at home.

As the Education Coordinator, I contact each patient’s school and work closely

with the teachers to obtain curriculum for the patient to work on in our fully

equipped, modern classroom. The completed coursework is scanned and emailed

back to the school for credit. In addition, the patients receive attendance credit

for attending school in our Durham Public Schools’ Hospital School program.

Whether the patient is gifted and talented or in need of exceptional

accommodations, the Education Program at Veritas can meet the student’s

individual needs. In addition to having on-site, licensed teachers, up to 20 local

university undergraduate students volunteer each week during the school year to

tutor patients one-on-one in high-level math, science and foreign language

coursework. The patients feel productive and challenged academically in the

nurturing environment.

While the patients’ health and meaningful recovery are always the priority at

Veritas, focusing on their academics becomes a welcome piece of home for most

patients. We seek to serve the whole person in his/her path to recovery – including

academic progress.

Mindy Elliott

Education Coordinator, Veritas Collaborative

Hospital Teacher, Durham Public Schools

For more information on Veritas Collaborative’s Education Program, visit

http://veritascollaborative.com/recovery-process/eating-disorders-program-

details/school-program