Dietitians are crucial members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team in eating disorder recovery. Continue reading to learn about what to expect after booking an initial nutrition assessment at Change Creates Change.
There is a lot of content and misinformation on the internet about food, nutrition, cooking, and health which are readily accessible. When meeting your dietitian for the first time, you may think they will “judge” your food intake or prescribe a specific diet. However, dietitians working in eating disorder care are trained to provide nutrition counselling that fosters a therapeutic relationship with an individual and/or their caregivers.
Developing a therapeutic relationship with you and your loved one is a primary goal of the initial nutrition assessment at Change Creates Change.
Therapeutic Relationship
The eating disorder dietitian will work to develop this relationship while also reviewing pertinent medical information including:
- Past medical history
- Medications and/or supplements
- Relevant laboratory values (bloodwork, ECG)
- Digestive symptoms
- Sleep patterns
- Menses
- Physical activity level
- Previous eating behaviours
- Food sensitivities, allergies, and intolerances
- Current food intake
- Disordered eating behaviours
- Home food environment and meal patterns
One of the primary roles of the dietitian in eating disorder recovery is to normalize eating behaviours. The dietitian may achieve this by providing and developing a mechanical eating plan. At Change Creates Change all recommendations are individualized and may change over time.
Just as eating disorder recovery is a process, developing a relationship with your dietitian happens over time and discussing and implementing an eating disorder recovery plan will take more than one session.
While you may not come away from the first session with an in-depth recovery plan, over the first few follow-ups, the dietitian, child, and you, as the caregiver, will work together to set individualized goals and recommendations so that nutrition rehabilitation is initiated as soon as possible.
Follow-up Appointments
Eating disorder recovery involves improving nutrition while challenging disordered eating behaviours. As you continue to work with a dietitian, you and your loved one can expect to have discussions such as:
- Exploring beliefs related to food intake and weight gain
- Recognizing and working through fears about a particular food and/or food groups
- What foods and fluids your body needs to recover
- Why vitamins and minerals are important and how your body uses them
- The connection between eating habits and your emotions
Dietitians in Eating Disorder Recovery
Our team of dietitians in eating disorders at Change Creates Change are compassionate, objective and non-judgemental. They are here to help clients and their families navigate nutrition rehabilitation in eating disorder recovery and play an important role in helping to normalize eating behaviours and repair clients’ relationships with food. Book a free, 15-minute consultation call with us to learn more about how we can help.
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