Got Questions?
Here are the answers you seek... hopefully.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions.
What can I expect in my first session?
Great question! Your first session is about understanding your reason for seeing us, your history, and working together to develop a care plan that is actually actionable and supports sustainability.
If you have any recent test results, information, or anything else to help us get a clearer picture of you and your situation, bring it along!
DDD is about YOU. It's more than just your digestive system; it's about integrating awareness, understanding of your nervous system too, while supporting the development of conscious tools and habits.
What is Dietetics?
A dietitian is someone who has studied how the body works, how the food you eat impacts your health and well-being and how your food choices need to be adjusted if you a living with or trying to prevent chronic diseases. Specifically, a dietitian can help you understand how you can make food choices to improve your wellbeing.
What is the difference between a Dietitian and Nutritionist?
Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, and there are a wide range of different training options that people can complete and refer to themselves as a nutritionist. A dietitian is required complete a university degree, that involves placement hours in a hospital and a community health setting supporting people with living with different health related conditions.
What is trauma informed care?
Trauma informed care recognises that trauma and adverse experiences shape an individuals learning history and influences their behaviour in the present moment. A trauma informed clinician will be able to support you in a way that provides you with a sense of safety, focuses on rapport, builds genuine trust and leaves you feeling empowered in your care.
What level of education does the DDD team have?
All clinicians have completed a masters degree in dietetics, are credentialed eating disorder clinicians and engage with ongoing professional development in nutrition science, gut microbiome and acceptance and commitment therapy.
What associations are you part of and why is that important?
As a Dietitian we are registered with Dietitians Australia (DA). DA is the professional organisation responsible for credentialing dietitians, ensuring members stay up to date with research and evidence to best support people in the community.
The Australian and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) eating disorder credential, formally recognises treatment providers with the skills and qualifications to deliver effective and safe eating disorder treatment.
Clinicians are members of the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (ACBS), which is an online global learning and research community. This is how we stay up to date with relevant research and training that supports our clinicians with their nutrition and lifestyle behaviour change skills.
Why don't you focus on dieting and weight loss like everyone else?
Simply because for most people weight loss dieting doesn't work and causes harm both psychologically and physically in the long term. Our approach has been influenced by the work for Dr Rick Kausman and his book If Not Dieting, Then What?
Are you a therapist?
Our approach takes a contextual view and considers your eating patterns and food choices through the lens of human behaviour. We then draw upon the therapeutic use of interventions relevant to what you bring into the session to help you make changes in the direction of what is important to you. We draw upon a mix of nutrition counselling modalities including motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy, using DNA-V and cognitive behaviour therapy
Where is the line between an intervention being therapeutic and an intervention being therapy?
This all depends on the individual and their situation. In short, if I'm not confident in my capacity to deliver the intervention and I don't have a clear clinical reason for why I am delivering the intervention, then I don't. Generally, if a discussion extends beyond direct links to food and eating, I will encourage you to continue the discussion with a therapist.
Cliff notes version! What I am curious about and what I aim to support you with is understanding how you relate to your internal experiences. What are the experiences in your life, what are the messages you have internalised and how are you using food and eating to manage the difficulties associated with these emotions?
Why do therapeutic interventions matter?
How we relate to our experiences is more important than the experiences themselves. If we can shift how we relate to these experiences, we no longer react to them, but can choose how we want to respond to them. For those reading who feel they need control - this is a far more liberating sense of empowerment than trying to gain a sense of control by trying to control what you do or don't eat!
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps you to notice what is happening with your thoughts and feelings and supports you to move toward what matters in your life. It helps you develop flexibility in how you respond to your internal experiences using your noticing or mindfulness skills.
Why have you chosen this modality?
I'm pretty sensitive to the suffering of others and I don't like to see people struggle and suffer unnecessarily. My traditional training as a dietitian provided me with a wonderful knowledge of the science of our bodies and food, however, it didn't give me the skills to support people in changing their behaviour. I had a wonderful mentor as a new graduate dietitian, who is well known for quoting "Nutrition is a science and eating is a behaviour. Behaviour change is hard" - Tara MacGregor. I learned some wonderful skills in motivational interviewing, however, this still left me stuck in my capacity to meaningfully support people. ACT has allowed me to develop a skill set I use in my own life and a skill set I can support people with to build their own capacity to notice their thoughts and feelings, and develop different ways of responding to these thoughts and feelings flexibly, so they can worry less about food and their bodies and do more of what matters to them!
What is Somatic Movement Therapy, is it evidence-based, and how does it relate to Dietetics?
Somatic Movement Therapy supports holistic well-being through the use of psychotherapeutic movement. Unlike traditional talk therapy, SMT takes people into the non-verbal and draws upon the body's innate knowing and wisdom to support the individual in integrating emotional, cognitive, social, and physical aspects of their being. It is a specialised form of counseling and psychotherapy, whereby the movement therapist will guide you to open up new movement pathways that have become disinhibited as a result of trauma or adverse, stress-related experiences.
SMT draws upon Developmental Movement Patterns (DMT), Basic Neurocellular Patterns (BNP), and functional movement analysis.
Movement therapy is regulated by the Dance Movement Therapy Association of Australia (DTAA)
Our initial training in dietetic practice provided us with solid skills in nutrition science and chronic disease management, and behaviour change was primarily supported through the modality of psychoeducation. Our additional training in motivational interviewing, helped us to develop skills in working with ambivalence around change, however, it didn't give us the skills to help people build any internal capacity to make or sustain change. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has given us a diverse range of skills to help people understand and work with their internal experiences, thoughts, and feelings and move towards what matters to them in life. As part of our continual evolution in looking for holistic ways to serve, help, and support people, somatic movement therapy is the next stage of our offerings in supporting people.
What is different about DDD?
Most people who come to work with us, are disillusioned with traditional ways of being supported, have generally had harmful and unsupportive experiences in receiving care and support in the past, and are ambivalent to see a dietitian. Many people will describe their experiences as feeling like a square peg trying to be crammed into a round hole.
Our appointments are different too. See this question for details.
Can I see DDD without a referral and what are the benefits of getting a referral?
Yes, no referral is necessary to book an appointment. Some people may be eligible for a chronic disease management plan or an eating disorder management plan.
How much does a dietitian cost?
Pricing varies, depending on your situation but our fee schedule page should give you a solid guide.
How often should you see a dietitian?
Depending on your individual situation and needs, people see a dietitian as frequently as twice a week, to as little as monthly, or even quarterly. It just depends on how much or how little support you need to reach your goals and sustainably develop new skills.