Practicing online in Washington and California
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: You're a dietitian and a mental health counselor? How does that work?
A: My professional experience and credentials allow me to better meet the needs of my clients. Prior to beginning our work together, we will identify what kind of services you're looking for. Some folks prefer solely nutrition or mental health counseling; some folks prefer a mix of the two.
Q: Can we work together if I live in [Insert state]?
A:
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For nutrition services, I can see clients virtually in both Washington, California and Colorado.
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For mental health counseling services, I can see clients virtually in Washington.
Q: What can I expect from working with a counselor?
A: First, we'll usually do a free ~15-minute discovery call where we can get to know each other, talk about your goals and determine if we're a good fit for working together. If so, we'll book an initial appointment! Prior to the appointment, I'll send you some documents to sign as well as an intake form that asks you questions about your relationship and social context, medical and mental health history, and if you're interested, nutrition history. At our first appointment we'll review your intake forms and start to identify what things you might want to work on in therapy. From there, we'll dive deeper on those topics and navigate what thoughts, beliefs, and feelings arise in relation to those goals.
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Q: How does therapy work?
A: One of the most important aspects of therapy is something called the therapeutic relationship: the trust and bond between client and therapist. It is believed that when we feel truly safe and heard by our therapist, we can start to open up to the parts of ourselves that might feel some shame and stuckness. When we can shine that light on those parts, we can start to unwork those unhelpful beliefs and patterns, offer greater compassion to ourselves, and make space to grieve and process the painful circumstances that we've experienced.
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Q: What can I expect from working with a dietitian?
A: Similar to my work as a counselor, we will start with some intro calls and initial documentation that focuses on your nutrition habits, medical history and lifestyle. At our initial appointment, we'll discuss your intake forms, go over some nutrition and lifestyle education, and formulate goals based on your unique needs. From there, follow-ups will be tailored towards the progress on your goals.
Q: Do you do in-person appointments?
A: I hold all appointments virtually, using an online video-conferencing platform.
Q: How are you approaching DEI work?
A: I am a cis, white woman. I'm aware that I will never fully understand the lived and intergenerational experience of many people, including people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community. I am actively working to better educate myself on how to see and serve the needs of my clients and welcome conversations about how my privilegeiledge and presence affects our counseling relationship.
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Q: Do you offer sliding scale pricing?
A: I offer sliding scale pricing in four tiers as outlined on my Services page
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Q: What is your nutrition and lifestyle philosophy?
A: I am an intuitive eating, anti-diet and weight neutral provider. I support my clients in their pursuit of holistic health and weight loss may or may not occur; however I do not aid in explicit weight loss.
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Q: What does anti-diet mean? What about weight neutral?
A: This means that I do not provide nutrition or mental health counseling for the purpose of explicit weight loss. My approach is weight-neutral and HAES-aligned, meaning that we will address mental and physical health concerns without centering your weight or weight loss as a treatment goal.
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Q: Do you work with a variety of gender identities?
A: Yes! I work with men, women, non-binary folks and people of all genders. I work from a gender affirming lens, meaning I will leverage my privileges, presence, education and license to support your needs.
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Q: What is women's health?
A: Women's health is a specialty that focuses on the unique physiology of those with ovaries and/or a uterus. This includes PCOS, period problems like PMS, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause. This specialty requires an understanding of the menstrual cycle, hormone fluctuations, the female anatomy, lived experience and more.
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Q: What is holistic wellness?
A: Holistic wellness is an approach that considers the entire person in order to optimize their health. This includes physical health but also emotional and spiritual health. In your appointment we will cover what you eat and drink , but we also might discuss your mindset around food, body image, sleep, stress, movement, supplements, and more.
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Q: Do you create meal plans?
A: Short answer, it depends. I like to empower my clients to develop their own version of what a nourishing lifestyle looks like for them. Rather than prescribing a standard meal plan, I offer them a framework for which to build their own meals. If a client needs more or less support I will adjust this framework to meet their unique needs. I operate in this manner because my goal is for my clients to feel comfortable and confident in their nutrition choices even after working together.
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Q: Is online nutrition counseling weird?
A: It is absolutely normal to have some apprehension around telehealth as it's a new medium of care. That said, you'll likely find that even though our appointments are held over video, we're still able to foster a genuine and connected relationship. You may even find that it's more convenient as it doesn't require a commute and we are not as limited by geography.
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Have another question not listed here? Contact me!