I (Jodie Sheraton) have been a Accredited Practising Dietitian for just over 10 years now and have spent the last 8 or so working in the field of Eating Disorder treatment particularly in early intervention. I consider myself very experienced, compassionate, caring and willing to work dam hard to get my clients well and reach recovery from their illness .. the eating disorder.
I attend regular training and supervision to keep my skills in providing various treatment models to my clients based on the best evidence and strategies that we have to date. Each person who walks through our doors has a unique eating disorder presentation which requires a different approach to their particular eating disorder behaviours and symptoms.
During my years of specialising in this field I have also heard of clients who have had consultations with dietitians who have very little understanding / training and skill set to properly assess, treat, manage and work as part of a team to sufficiently provide adequate intervention for someone presenting with an Eating Disorder.
At times when an individual or family are first experiencing a diagnosis of an eating disorder it can be quite confronting, scary, terrifying and I’m sure a few other emotions like anger and frustration are also felt. It may seem like the dietitian (me) is being very firm, be suggesting things to eat that may not fit the general health food criteria, suggest difficult boundary setting, or strategies to keep someone safe and out of hospital. The reasons I do this is because I have skills, knowledge and clinical experience beyond what we know as a generalist dietitian.
This podcast highlights some of the very important messages from people living with an eating disorder to their dietitian. It demonstrates the necessary steps a dietitian (or any clinician working with clients who have an eating disorder) must be willing to take to provide a level of treatment and support to help achieve recovery for an individual.
I would encourage individuals who are experiencing living with an eating disorder, family members, dietitians, GPs and other clinicians to watch this to gain a better understanding of what being a eating disorder dietitian is all about and why I love what I do!
