Adjusting academic activity during treatment for an eating disorder
When a person is in treatment for an eating disorder, one of the issues that causes them, and also their environment, the most concern is how their academic activity will be adjusted to the moment they are going through.
As educators, in order to devise an educational support that regulates the academic intensity throughout the treatment, we must take into account, from the beginning, that this is an important situation that needs to be addressed and that it is fluctuating and permeable.
Given this, the approach may differ depending on the school, the family, and the student. At opposite ends of the spectrum of possibilities, we can find two options:
- Drastically halting studies until recovery or completion of treatment . This option may offer a break from academic demands, but it also carries the risk of fostering isolation, demotivation, hopelessness, loss of identity, and a lack of personal educational goals.
- Maintaining the same level of academic intensity as before starting treatment . In this case, the need for time, presence, and energy that the person requires to address the implications of the disorder in their daily life and to be able to receive appropriate help is overlooked.
Maintaining the educational link when a student needs hospitalization in mental health units
Ask ourselves what the person's needs are.
These positions present drastic scenarios that can lead to a discouraging or unrealistic educational response. The challenge, therefore, lies in crafting a balanced educational plan that allows for treatment while also appropriately supporting the continuity of the individual's educational and personal development. In this way, the person will be able to:
- Having moments in which the mind is occupied with enriching and healthy matters.
- Sharing experiences with peers.
- Continue to cultivate an exciting idea of the future.
- Maintain age-appropriate social spaces.
- Promote healthy identities as student, partner, and pupil.
- Stimulate cognitive abilities and personal skills.
- Develop skills for respectful and critical coexistence in the community.
Camil·la Sánchez Benítez
Some questions that teachers can ask themselves to make decisions about the most appropriate intensity of academic activity at any given time are:
- Does it respect the student's current care needs?
- Does it provide impetus and support for continued training?
- Does it boost the person's current motivation?
- Does it promote curiosity to continue learning?
- Does it maintain and strengthen the bond with the educational center and its community?
- Does it promote learning and allow for its evaluation?
It is also important to consider that the educational response does not depend solely on the will or judgment of the various stakeholders. It is also determined by the specific regulations of each region for each educational stage . For this reason, and because each student and educational institution has its own specific characteristics, there is no single educational response applicable to all students when dealing with treatment for an eating disorder.
The challenge lies in weaving a balanced educational plan that allows room for treatment and also favors, in an appropriate way, the continuity of the educational and personal project.
The key: educational coordination
Given this unique situation, and in order to ensure a suitable balance of academic intensity, it is important to create a network where all stakeholders can offer their perspectives. It is crucial to foster a broad and shared vision that is incorporated into an individualized educational plan , with the participation of:
- The teaching staff and the guidance team of the school and the area: can provide a lot of knowledge about the students' academic trajectory, their connection with the school and the educational community, their motivations and educational projections, as well as the different adaptation possibilities that may arise.
- The family and the affected person: will be able to provide an essential perspective regarding desires, concerns, worries, difficulties, resistance, possibilities of support, frustrations, etc.
- The multidisciplinary team of the therapeutic unit: can establish itself as a point of support and meeting to accurately determine the stage of evolution the person is at and facilitate that all eyes focus on common, realistic and hopeful objectives.
Guidelines for educational centers when there is a case of eating disorder
Clearly, this coordination exercise should not be a one-off event but rather a regular occurrence. This is important because we are dealing with a fluctuating process. For this communication to be fluid and sustained over time, it is important to agree on the most convenient and feasible method for all parties.
In conclusion, opting for an individualized and flexible educational response, reviewed periodically, will ensure that the academic intensity is adjusted, in terms of respect and encouragement, to the needs and possibilities of the person during treatment and recovery.
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