For Therapists: Partnering with a Nutritionist
Therapists are in higher demand now than in recent years. There is a shortage of therapists. This means, if you are doing the work of helping clients through mental health trials, you are being asked to do more than ever before. Thank you for showing up every day to help us all out.
I have had the privilege to work alongside many therapists, and I have observed that you all deeply care about your clients and desire them to get better. I also know many therapists are feeling the strain from the demand on their time. With that, I would like to outline here why working with a nutritionist may be right for many of your clients to help them progress faster, and how that can complement the fine work you are already doing and lighten your load.
As you know, the etiology of mental health is complex and usually multifactorial. There are many things that therapists do to help out clients with the psychological and the social sides of this puzzle. I also know many therapists recommend getting good nutrition, sleep, and movement, but just like you would not want someone who is not a therapist to give guidance out of their scope of practice, nutrition support is best left to those who specialize in nutrition.
Nutrition for Mental Health
A CNS is qualified to assess mental health from a biochemical perspective. This is done through lab work. There are many nutrition factors that contribute to poor mental health. Your CNS will assess for:
- Nutrient deficiency/excess
- Too many or too few calories
- Stress
- Biochemical pathways related to neurotransmitter production
- Inflammation
- Gut health/Microbiome
- HPA axis dysregulation
- Blood sugar balance
- Fluid intake
- Sleep habits
- Exercise or movement
- And many other factors
We know that for some people, when biochemical pathways aren’t working well, they manifest it most by having poor mental health. Your nutrition influences all of your body systems; including your brain and psychological health.
Eating disorders and disordered eating
Eating disorders and disordered eating are on the rise like never before. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be wasting away to have an eating disorder. The majority of people with eating disorders are in normal weight to large body sizes.
Eating disorders are complex and require a team. This is likely where you have utilized nutrition professionals before as a therapist. A nutritionist is an important part of the healthcare team in eating disorders.
Less well understood is disordered eating. While not to the severity of eating disorders, large portions of the population are struggling with dysfunctional relationships with food. This complicates their mental health as huge amounts of mental energy are spent obsessing about food.
Clients with disordered eating are often swinging from eating a varied diet to eating a diet rich in simple carbohydrates. Often they are restricting for large portions of the day and “losing control” in the evenings. It is common for these clients to be missing whole food groups that lead to vibrant health. Clients often yo-yo diet, obsess over weight, and feel a lot of shame around their food.
Why does this matter to therapists?
As mentioned above, therapists are very in demand right now. If you knew of something that could help your clients reach mental wellness faster would it be worth looking into? Sure. It’s going to reduce your stress as clients who have been stuck suddenly find they can make progress again. This not only helps your clients get well faster, it frees you up to see more clients, or to enjoy all the other things that you enjoy in life.
Which mental health clients are good candidates to see a CNS?
There is a large array of clients who benefit from seeing a CNS. Even clients who are initially struggling with a specific traumatic event may find that they have physical consequences that are hard to get over. In fact, trauma can cause physiological changes in the microbiome and digestion which can negatively impact mental health.
Here is a list of reasons you may want your client to visit with a CNS (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Ongoing stomach problems
- Pain
- Bloating
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Gas
- Heartburn
- Gallbladder issues
- Fatigue
- Sleep problems
- Disordered eating (or suspected disordered eating)
- Eating disorders
- Thyroid problems
- Hormone dysregulation
- Stress
- Headaches
- Feeling “off” physically
- Chronic pain
- Metabolic medical conditions:
- Thyroid problems
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- PCOS
- Anxiety
- Depression
- ADHD
The list is very long. If you are uncertain if a client would be a good fit, most CNSs offer free discovery calls and are happy to discuss the case with you.
How do I find a CNS to partner with?
If you have decided that you would like to find a CNS to partner with we would love to connect and discuss this further with you. Additionally, you can find a link to some excellent CNSs with a variety of specialties that we recommend here:
https://integrativefunctionalnutrition.com/nutrition-clinicians-we-recommend-for-medical-nutrition-therapy/
Most CNSs will do telehealth and work in a variety of states.
Conclusion
Here at IFN we have seen better progress with our clients who are working with us alongside a qualified therapist. Clients progress faster and work through their mental, emotional, and physical challenges which leads to much better outcomes. It has been our privilege to partner with many incredible mental health professionals and we are always seeking to add more strategic partners to our contact sheet. Since we specialize in women’s mental health nutrition we know that working together is the best thing we can do for our clients.
Warmly,
Melanee
she/her/hers
