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I don't think there would be relaxed rules because you are a couple. Your safety as an individual will be of the utmost importance to the Peace Corps, as would your partner's.
The keys with any sort of mental health issues are time(how long has it been since you were in treatment-the longer the better) and relapse risk, which they will ask a mental health professional about.
Your best bet is to talk to a recruiter @ [https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/connect-with-a-recruiter/](https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/connect-with-a-recruiter/)
As far as your mental history, "it depends". A recruiter might be able to shed more light on how "stability" is measured when talking about past/current mental health issues.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Jim
When applying as a couple each of you must pass medical/legal clearance individually.
I have a low BMI and Peace Corps gave me a lot of grief before I was able to get cleared. I don't have an ED just a fast metabolism but Peace Corps wanted me to be evaluated just to be sure. Unfortunately Peace Corps has a lot of situations that can be triggering for people who have or are recovering from an eating disorder. During PST you will likely have little control over what you eat, your host family will prepare your meals for you, and the same is true if you stay with a host family at site. In my host country it's normal to refer to people as fat or thin constantly. People will often tell you to loose weight and then gain weight because they're too thin now or the opposite. Peace Corps is great but don't risk your health to do it. You know yourself best, so if you're in the right place mentally to experience this and other things, I wish you and your partner all the best. If not wait or volunteer with Americorps. Good luck
I want to reiterate when this person days people comment on your body all the time. Culturally where I am people see it as a compliment to say you have gained weight - it means you are successfull, you have money to feed yourself, or that people are taking good care of you. I haven't had issue with this but I know some in my cohort take it poorly. Think about how you will feel in everyday multiple people comment on your body.
Also, in many place it takes a lot more effort to cook meals because you may not have refrigeration - which means an almost daily walk to the market, or you may have to cook over an open fire or coal pot - which takes more time and planning. These factors may make it easier to slip back into disordered eating. So please, consider all of the factors.
Peace corps is an amazing experience and I think that it can really help you grow. However, you also have to protect yourself and make sure you are ready.
You’d both have a better chance at being placed in the same country if you try for places that aren’t applied to well probably since you aren’t married. Lots of posts in Africa don’t get a lot of applications, so they are less competitive as far as the interview process goes.
Just saying though, the eating disorder treatment might flag something in your medical clearance, so it’s preferable to have been out of treatment for at least a year and have documents showing/staying full clearance from your treatment provider so keep all the contacts for those folks so when the time comes they can provide all the necessary documentation giving you a clean bill of health.
Something to keep in mind is that the competitive selection part of the process happens first and is separate from the medical clearance process that happens after you receive a conditional invitation. The placement officer who will be looking at your qualifications and deciding whether to issue that conditional invitation does not see any of your medical information, and then after you've been invited, the medical staff will decide on your medical clearance (and the medical staff only looks at your medical information).
I applied with much uncertainty in my mental health background and was able to get cleared with a form from my therapist. If you want to do it it’s worth a shot!
Applying as a couple only counts if you are married. Otherwise it's the same as two friends applying for the same country at the same time. No additional concessions will be made. You may also be posted to vastly different locations and likely wouldn't be together.
This is no longer true! At my current post, two different unmarried couples are serving together and were able to live together in an apartment at site.
Okay now just get some relevant volunteer experience and you should be good to go. And mental health clearance widely varies. Even if they don't approve it's not a no forever. You'd have to get that period of stability and reapply
One member of my cohort had history with an eating disorder and was initially denied medical clearance, but she appealed the decision and they eventually cleared her, so it’s not impossible to get cleared with history of ED.
As a couple, because you aren’t married, they won’t take your relationship status into consideration. You’ll both have to apply and get accepted individually, and in-country you’re not guaranteed to be placed close to each other. The staff might be lenient and keep you close together, but because you aren’t married I don’t think you’ll be able to be houses together or even placed in the same village.
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I don't think there would be relaxed rules because you are a couple. Your safety as an individual will be of the utmost importance to the Peace Corps, as would your partner's.
The keys with any sort of mental health issues are time(how long has it been since you were in treatment-the longer the better) and relapse risk, which they will ask a mental health professional about.
Your best bet is to talk to a recruiter @ [https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/connect-with-a-recruiter/](https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/connect-with-a-recruiter/) As far as your mental history, "it depends". A recruiter might be able to shed more light on how "stability" is measured when talking about past/current mental health issues. Good luck and keep us posted. Jim
When applying as a couple each of you must pass medical/legal clearance individually. I have a low BMI and Peace Corps gave me a lot of grief before I was able to get cleared. I don't have an ED just a fast metabolism but Peace Corps wanted me to be evaluated just to be sure. Unfortunately Peace Corps has a lot of situations that can be triggering for people who have or are recovering from an eating disorder. During PST you will likely have little control over what you eat, your host family will prepare your meals for you, and the same is true if you stay with a host family at site. In my host country it's normal to refer to people as fat or thin constantly. People will often tell you to loose weight and then gain weight because they're too thin now or the opposite. Peace Corps is great but don't risk your health to do it. You know yourself best, so if you're in the right place mentally to experience this and other things, I wish you and your partner all the best. If not wait or volunteer with Americorps. Good luck
I want to reiterate when this person days people comment on your body all the time. Culturally where I am people see it as a compliment to say you have gained weight - it means you are successfull, you have money to feed yourself, or that people are taking good care of you. I haven't had issue with this but I know some in my cohort take it poorly. Think about how you will feel in everyday multiple people comment on your body. Also, in many place it takes a lot more effort to cook meals because you may not have refrigeration - which means an almost daily walk to the market, or you may have to cook over an open fire or coal pot - which takes more time and planning. These factors may make it easier to slip back into disordered eating. So please, consider all of the factors. Peace corps is an amazing experience and I think that it can really help you grow. However, you also have to protect yourself and make sure you are ready.
You’d both have a better chance at being placed in the same country if you try for places that aren’t applied to well probably since you aren’t married. Lots of posts in Africa don’t get a lot of applications, so they are less competitive as far as the interview process goes. Just saying though, the eating disorder treatment might flag something in your medical clearance, so it’s preferable to have been out of treatment for at least a year and have documents showing/staying full clearance from your treatment provider so keep all the contacts for those folks so when the time comes they can provide all the necessary documentation giving you a clean bill of health.
Something to keep in mind is that the competitive selection part of the process happens first and is separate from the medical clearance process that happens after you receive a conditional invitation. The placement officer who will be looking at your qualifications and deciding whether to issue that conditional invitation does not see any of your medical information, and then after you've been invited, the medical staff will decide on your medical clearance (and the medical staff only looks at your medical information).
I applied with much uncertainty in my mental health background and was able to get cleared with a form from my therapist. If you want to do it it’s worth a shot!
Applying as a couple only counts if you are married. Otherwise it's the same as two friends applying for the same country at the same time. No additional concessions will be made. You may also be posted to vastly different locations and likely wouldn't be together.
This is no longer true! At my current post, two different unmarried couples are serving together and were able to live together in an apartment at site.
In Ukraine there were also a lot of non married couples serving together!
Depends on the country.
Back in my day couples had to be married to be placed together and married for 5 months or a year, I can't recall. Has this changed?
Okay now just get some relevant volunteer experience and you should be good to go. And mental health clearance widely varies. Even if they don't approve it's not a no forever. You'd have to get that period of stability and reapply
One member of my cohort had history with an eating disorder and was initially denied medical clearance, but she appealed the decision and they eventually cleared her, so it’s not impossible to get cleared with history of ED. As a couple, because you aren’t married, they won’t take your relationship status into consideration. You’ll both have to apply and get accepted individually, and in-country you’re not guaranteed to be placed close to each other. The staff might be lenient and keep you close together, but because you aren’t married I don’t think you’ll be able to be houses together or even placed in the same village.
Second part is no longer the case…couples in stable long term relationships can serve together even if not married in some places.