Voices of Veritas: Helping Alumni and Families Find Lasting Recovery

Our 2020 Voices of Veritas series brings the thought leaders and subject matter experts at Veritas Collaborative to the forefront of the conversation about eating disorders. Together, these perspectives further our vision of a world where all persons with eating disorders and their families can access best-practice care and hold hope for a cure. 

This month, we are featuring Shannon Braasch, MA, and the important connections that are fostered among former patients and their families through Veritas Collaborative’s Alumni Services. Ongoing support after treatment is an important part of the Veritas Collaborative care model. That’s why we continue to nurture connections among our alumni long after they exit our doors. As Director of Alumni Services and Professional Engagement, Shannon provides a critical line of support and resources to alumni as well as their family members and other community support members.

Supporting lasting recovery from eating disorders—one connection at a time.

Recovering from eating disorders is a lifelong commitment that has its share of challenges. Every person who comes to Veritas Collaborative receives the support and resources they need while they’re here—and access to Alumni Services after completing their recommended course of treatment.

Alumni Services helps alumni and their families continue to thrive in the days after treatment and beyond. Some people come to our Alumni Services events eager to connect and share their stories. Others come to listen and learn from a community that understands what it’s like to recover from an eating disorder. Shannon recalls one individual who was initially reluctant to engage and was hesitant to open up to others. Over time, she came to see the value of alumni programming in her own life and blossomed into an active participant at events. Sharing her story and connecting with people who are on a similar journey has helped her maintain recovery over time.

Seeing these kinds of transformations among alumni has affirmed Shannon’s professional transformation from counselor to coordinator of Alumni Services. The role offers the best of both worlds—she gets to lean on her clinical experience and help people with eating disorders remain on the path to lasting recovery.

“Long-term recovery requires long-term support,” she said. “Being a trusted connection who can provide hope to alumni and families keeps me motivated and excited about the work we do at Veritas Collaborative.”

Helping alumni and families continue to hold hope for a cure.

Eating disorder treatment provides an opportunity to learn coping skills in a safe and structured environment. However, long-term recovery means continuing to develop those much-needed skills after treatment. Alumni Services programming opportunities encourage skills development through peer-to-peer engagement, webinars, and events. We also provide ongoing support through intentional communications and access to an extensive online library of recovery resources including blogs, webinars, videos, and more.

Alumni Services is also there when people need help overcoming the types of individual challenges that can arise at any time after leaving treatment. Alumni and families can contact Shannon directly for the support they need. Helping people with eating disorders achieve their recovery goals is one of the most rewarding parts of the work we do at Veritas Collaborative.

For Shannon, becoming a beacon of hope to alumni provides a continued source of pride and purpose. That once-skeptical individual? She still stays in touch with Shannon—sending updates whenever she accomplishes a new milestone, like getting married and announcing she was pregnant with her first child.

Hope is powerful. It drives us to do our best today and try again tomorrow. When alumni and families have hope for the future—as well as ongoing support and resources—they can achieve the dreams that once felt out of reach.

“We encourage hope at every stage of recovery,” Shannon said. “Alumni Services allows us to support multidisciplinary outpatient treatment with therapeutic resources that promote lasting recovery.”

Going above and beyond for people with eating disorders.

Shannon’s vision of Alumni Services is driven by her passion for helping people with eating disorders and her clinical understanding of the skills and resources that need to be in place to prevent relapses after treatment. Veritas’ Alumni Services supports our alumni’s on-going recovery by creating innovative programming and digital resources, as well as seeking out opportunities to engage with individuals.

As part of our Alumni support services, Shannon reaches out to alumni and families to learn how Veritas Collaborative can be a partner in their recovery. It is an important step that helps cultivate events and educational opportunities that are aligned with our alumni’s evolving post-treatment needs.

“We put an extraordinary amount of thoughtfulness and care into every initiative and program at Veritas Collaborative,” she said. “Alumni and families who reach out for the individualized resources they need can feel that—and it feels like hope.”

At Veritas Collaborative, we are committed to providing ongoing support for patients and their families—through treatment and beyond. We’re in this together—and together, we are stronger. Reach out today to find out how Veritas Collaborative helps individuals with eating disorders and their families take the first step toward recovery.