Abstract
Many adolescents with mental disorders are hospitalized for a long period every year. This can affect their educational course both on the short and on the long run. For this reason, schools were founded within hospitals in accordance with the Child Rights Agreement (in Greece with the Law 2101/1992). At the Special Junior High School with Senior High classes there is a constant effort to maintain the normal school year and schedule. For all educational programs the disorder of each student-patient is taken into consideration and all programs are based on the following fundamentals: a) they are adjusted to the student’s educational needs b) meet his/her degree of readiness c) correspond to the level of his /her participation and d) do not exceed his/her endurance. Experience has revealed that the continuity of education during the hospitalization is highly therapeutical and that working at a school within a psychiatric clinic of a hospital is a prerogative and a responsibility for a teacher. To achieve the educational goals, the teacher needs to adopt a holistic approach of teaching and use proper methods for the development of social skills and of abilities related to critical thinking.
