Going Back to School in Eating Disorder Recovery

Blog Post By Hidden River Treatment Center

As a parent with a child in eating disorder treatment, you’re making decisions that impact their health and well-being every day. With summer coming to an end, you may be wondering if it’s time to pull them out of their residential treatment program so that they can return to school with their peers. 

A structured treatment program is effective when a patient completes their individualized treatment plan and they are truly ready to return to their daily routine. They may have engaged in eating disorder behaviors at school (e.g. hid in the bathroom during lunch, threw food away, or purged after meals). Returning to the school environment and the rigors of academic performance can trigger traumatic memories and a resumption of harmful eating disorder habits.  

If you’ve decided that returning to school before completion of a treatment program is the best option for your child, there are some steps you can take to ensure that they are prepared.

1. Integrate School Slowly: When a child, adolescent, or young adult returns to school during the early phase of recovery, it’s important for them to reintegrate back into classes and daily living in a thoughtful way. Begin by arranging for them to take on a smaller workload with a gradual increase as they adjust. Remind them that it’s okay to maintain this modified approach for as long as necessary. If they begin to struggle with balancing their academic pursuits and treatment plan, they can reduce their school work load or even take a break from school. 

   Studies reveal that individuals struggling with eating disorders tend towards perfectionism. This mindset often leads them to feel an intense pressure to excel at both academics and extracurricular activities, the stress of which can trigger disordered eating behaviors. 

2. Develop a Strong Support System: As your child leaves the security of a structured residential treatment program, they need to know they have a strong support system to help them whenever problems arise or are likely to arise. In addition to their existing outpatient provider(s), talk to their teachers, school nurse, and school counselor to let them know about your child’s eating disorder treatment and recovery. Identify a point person at school with whom they can always connect, and how your child might successfully communicate their needs during a potential challenge. Their teacher, school nurse, and/or school counselor should meet with your child’s lead treatment team member to become knowledgeable about your child’s particularized needs and treatment plan and how best to support your child’s continuing recovery.

3. Create a Comprehensive Nutrition Plan: If your child needs meal supervision during the school day, that’s okay! Work with your child, their treatment team, and the school staff to ensure that they receive consistent support during meals and snacks. Be sure the school’s staff can contact the treatment team when needed.

4. Approach Extracurricular Activities in a Thoughtful Way: School means field trips, sports teams, group projects, and social events that conflict with your child’s treatment program.  Recovery takes precedence over all school activities (academics are provided in a residential treatment program). Discuss with your child’s treatment team how potential extracurricular activities would fit into their schedule of one-on-one appointments and group therapy sessions.

If returning to school is not currently the best treatment option, many residential programs offer in-treatment learning options, allowing students to stay up to date with course curriculum for their grade.

Studies show that students are more engaged in treatment when they know they’re staying reasonably on-track with their home peer group. At Hidden River, we take great pride in our efforts to continue advancing our patients’ state-certified education. Visit our website to learn more about how we partner with LearnWell to support students as they head back to school.

About the Contributor: Hidden River provides residential eating disorder treatment for girls, adolescents, and young women (ages 10 to 20) utilizing an expert, compassionate multidisciplinary treatment team of psychiatrists, therapists and nutritionists that emphasizes family involvement. Located on a grand estate in Chester, New Jersey, they offer a beautifully designed facility in a peaceful, natural environment conducive to recovery and healing.

For middle and high school students, we partner with Learn Well education services, which provides on-site, custom educational programs to school-age patients. A LearnWell state-certified teacher provides two hours of in-person tutoring Monday through Friday, excluding holidays and seasonal breaks. The teacher regularly communicates with the patient’s community school district and guidance counselor to acquire a student’s own schoolwork. LearnWell teachers understand the variety of needs that exist as a result of an eating disorder and/or co-occurring conditions as well as the requirements of treatment.

Sources

Bardone-Cone AM, Sturm K, Lawson MA, Robinson DP, Smith R (2010). Perfectionism across stages of recovery from eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43(2): 139-148. 10.1002/eat.20674

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