Counseling Session

I got to sit in on an eating disorder counseling session. Due to privacy concerns, I won't say much about it, but it was an amazing learning experiece.

Dianne, began by catching up on the young woman's life. You could tell Dianne had a very good relationship with this her. And this young woman really knew Dianne cared about her and trusted Dianne, which is key to be of any help. Dianne proceeded to go through what foods were still issues. She then went through which types of foods this young woman ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dianne allowed this young woman to explain what she was still have problems with, and Dianne also allowed her to argue. It was very intriguing to watch how with every argument Dianne would listen, voice her empathy and understanding, and try to change those arguments and beliefs. this particular woman was very open o what Dianne had to say which I'm sure is the result of a long built relationship of friendship and trust. The session ended with a few small goals to try to incorporate more foods that this young woman was struggling with.

An interesting thing I noted was that this young woman was an expert on nutrition. She was very smart and knew a lot. She also knew a lot of numbers. She rattled off a several different serving sizes. Such as 55 goldfish = 140 calories, 7 wheat thins = 120 calories, 6 triscuits = 150 calories....etc.

The important things I pulled from this, was a lot of things I have mentioned before. The dietitian needs to listen and never judge. The dietitian also needs not only to be a dietitian but a friend to these girls. Dianne did an amazing job at remember specific details to the lives of the young women that come to her. This built a strong relationship between the two that was a perfect environment for healing and progress.