A healthy relationship with food is one that allows you to nourish your body and experience the many things that food adds to your life, such as enjoyment and social connection, without feeling guilty or ashamed. If you often feel physically and/or mentally uncomfortable after eating, this could be a sign that your current relationship with food isn’t a healthy one for you.

If your eating is concerning you or other people who know you, we’re here to support to have the kind of relationship with food that helps you feel good. Please be aware that it’s not within the scope of practice as a dietitian to diagnose an eating disorder. If you think you might have an eating disorder, you could make an appointment to discuss your concerns with your GP.

What we specialise in

Disordered eating
Someone with disordered eating might have some of the same dieting behaviours as a person with an eating disorder, but these behaviours are less severe and/or happen less often. Dieting is such a normal part of our culture now that many people with disordered eating often don’t see their behaviour as abnormal.

Disordered eating includes things such as:

• Skipping meals or trying to go longer between eating
• Cutting out particular foods or food groups
• Making yourself sick after eating
• Deliberately eating less food to make up for eating
• Fasting (aside from religious or spiritual reasons)
• Going on a ‘cleanse’ or ‘detoxing’
• Binge eating

Eating disorders

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions which can affect people of any age, gender and cultural background. Even more importantly, eating disorders can affect people in a range of body types and sizes – not just thin people. With most eating disorders, thoughts and feelings about weight and/or shape lead to severe and frequent unhealthy behaviours around food and compensating for eating. Everyone’s experience of living with an eating disorder is unique, which is why our dietitians spend the time getting to know each of their clients. Your dietitian will take the time to understand what you want to get from working with them.

We see clients with the following eating disorder presentations:

• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Binge Eating Disorder
• OSFED

If you think you might have an eating disorder, you can get support right now by calling 1800 ED HOPE. This free and confidential helpline runs 8am – midnight (AEST), 7 days per week and is staffed by qualified mental health professionals.

FAQ

What will the work look like?
Wherever you’re currently at with your recovery journey, the work your dietitian will lead you through in your sessions together will help you move closer to living a life free from food rules, unkind thoughts, and body shame. Using the R.A.V.E.S framework (developed by Shane Jeffrey APD), your dietitian will support you to reduce the harmful behaviours and challenge the unhelpful food and body beliefs keeping your disordered eating or eating disorder going.

The first thing you’ll work on is establishing and maintaining a pattern of regular, adequate eating. Your dietitian will talk with you about structuring your meals and snacks to provide your body with the nourishment it needs. This will allow your body to stabilise at a healthy point, so your brain can work on the ‘food psychology’ part of recovery. The structure you put in place isn’t designed to stay there long-term; eventually you’ll be able to trust your body to guide your eating choices and you’ll spend way less time thinking about food and your eating choices!

How often will I meet with with my dietitian?
Most people will start off with having a session each fortnightly. Your dietitian will continually be assessing what session frequency is going to be most supportive for you – whether that’s keeping up with fortnightly sessions, increasing to weekly sessions, or dropping down to monthly sessions.

Do I need a referral?
You don’t need a referral to work with us, however you’ll need a referral if you want to claim rebates from Medicare. We suggest making an appointment* with your GP to discuss your eligibility for an Eating Disorder Plan (EDP). An EDP will allow you to claim a rebate for up to 20 sessions. If you’re not eligible for an EDP, you might be eligible for a Chronic Disease Management Plan.

*Please book a longer appointment

Is there a waitlist?
Our dietitians are in high demand, which means that new clients will need to go onto our waitlist. Our admin team will let you know how long the waitlist currently is when you get in touch.

How do I get started?
If you’re interested in working with us, please get in touch by submitting the form below.