Health services' eating disorder policy
If you struggle with an eating disorder, you may be referred by a student life staff member to work with health services for treatment. This treatment will likely go hand in hand with care provided by staff members from other offices—the Broene Counseling Center, Creative Dining Services and the Dean of residence life.
Your rights
Although Calvin College respects a student's right to individual choice, the student life division has a responsibility to intervene when such choices create serious risk of harm to self or others. A student with an eating disorder may pose such a risk.
A network of care
When student life staff members are made aware of your struggle with an eating disorder, they will make efforts to refer you for appropriate assessment and care. Normally the assessment will begin with referral to the Broene Counseling Center, but referral may also be to Health Services, Trina Weber, MS, RD, or the on-campus dietician employed by Creative Dining Services. You may also be referred to the Dean of residence life or of student development, or possibly an off-campus therapist.
Creating a plan
Your Broene Center counselor will discuss with you the elements of an appropriate treatment plan and its goals, and he or she will seek to arrive at an agreement with the you concerning an appropriate plan for counseling and other care. In many cases, the treatment plan will involve other staff members.
Your responsibilities
When your situation warrants, there will be minimal expectations for you to remain in treatment and to remain enrolled as a student. These expectations will be stated and agreed upon by you and your counselor Guidelines for determining these expectations are attached to this policy. An outline of the functioning of the coordinated care team is also attached.
Your involvement, signing of the release form, and agreement to a coordinated care plan are voluntary.
Further measures
If your physical or mental health condition puts the you at serious risk of harming yourself, or if you fail to make adequate progress toward the goals identified for counseling and treatment, it may be necessary for the college to take measures that are in your best interest, with or without your express permission.
Such action may include:
- contacting your parents, spouse or other family members to discuss psychological or medical treatment options other than those that can be provided by the college and, if necessary
- suspension for reason of physical and mental health conditions incompatible with continued enrollment.
