Helen Barnett

Dietitian & Nutritionist

My passion is to help you restore a healthy relationship with food, understand how and why you need to nourish your body, while genuinely learning to find the joy in eating. I hope to help you achieve a balance between food, movement, and emotional conceptions of health through supporting your Body and Mind with good Nutrition.

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Personalised Nutrition Counselling

I am a Nutritionist, Certified Intuitive Eating Coach, Dietitian (APD) and Credentialed Eating Disorders Clinician (CEDC) located within Dubbo Health Hub in Dubbo, and Psych Solutions in Orange. I have a strong interest in social justice and how health and diet impact our mental, physical, social and emotional well-being. I come from a place of non-judgement and inclusivity with a keen desire to understand your perspective and journey, yet do not want to “fix” you. Rather, I want to help you on your own journey towards health, personal growth and understanding. In many ways, I believe this can only come from a relationship that is fostered and built on genuine trust and mutual understanding, collaboration and mutually agreed goals.

As a Health at Every Size and Non-Diet dietitian, I have a focus on improving my clients’ health without focusing on weight. That doesn’t mean that weight loss may not be a by-product of improved diet or lifestyle, but I do not place weight goals, or weigh my clients as part of my assessment process. This is because weight is a very poor indicator of health, and also leads to clients feeling judged and ashamed, which research has shown and proved to be a very poor motivator. In contrast, I prefer to take the focus off weight, and focus on the relationship with food, and help my clients tune in to what their body is telling them. Important body cues include hunger and fullness, recognising foods that are satisfying, exploring food rules we have put in place, and eating for emotional reasons. 

I have an uncomplicated approach to food and health because I see eating as a fundamental human need. I combine this with a detailed understanding of the science behind both nutrition and human physiology to give you the most up-to date recommendations – when asked – so you can make the best decisions for your health. I am passionate about helping my clients develop self-compassion in a rapidly changing world and learn to love (or at the very least, value) themselves so they can nourish and feed themselves in a caring and kind way. I love the psychology behind human behaviour and am more interested in my clients’ relationship with food than prescribing another meal plan. My goal is to help guide you to trust your own wisdom regarding what is right for you; to trust your own intuition, and not the ever changing external “rules” from the media, books or other people. 

As an Evidence-based clinician I am constantly learning and love to share this knowledge with my clients in the spirit of openness and collaboration.

I have many areas of interests, and specifically focus on IBS and complex Gut Disorders (Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, SIBO and Coeliac Disease), Eating Disorders, Chronic Dieting and weight concerns, Intuitive Eating, NDIS, Autism and ADHD, Women’s Health, and fertility, PCOS, Sports Nutrition, and Nutrigenomics, DNA testing and Personalised Nutrition. I offer services to all ages – from babies who may have intolerances or allergies from breast or bottle-feeding and onto issues with starting solids, through to assisting the elderly maintain adequate nutrition in order to remain independent. In the last few years I have started consulting to a number of Residential Aged care facilities throughout the central west, and now service 5 facilities regularly.

 

Many people offer Nutrition advice. Why choose a Dietitian?

As an Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) I am a university-qualified nutrition professional. I am required to undertake ongoing training and education to ensure my knowledge is up-to-date, reliable, credible and evidence-based. APDs are the most qualified healthcare professionals to provide tailored nutrition and dietary advice, and they are the only nutrition professionals recognised by the Australian Government, Medicare, and Private Health Insurers
 
As an Accredited Sports Dietitian I have done further training through the AIS and Sports Dieititan’s Australia, along with continuing Education over 3 years to attain the credential of Accredited Sports Dietitian. This enables me to give tailored nutrition advice to elite, Master’s and amateur athletes.
 
I have also completed additional training to become a Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor, a Monash University Trained Low FODMAP Dietitian, and a Credentialed Eating Disorders Clinician (Dietician) through ANZAED.
 
While a dietitian can help with “healthy eating”, a dietitian has extra training to assess nutritional needs and use ‘Medical Nutrition Therapy’ to help people manage their health through food choices. APDs help treat a wide range of medical conditions including diabetes, heart disease, cancers, gastrointestinal diseases, food allergies, food intolerances and disordered eating. APDs have the skills to:
  • Assess individual nutritional needs
  • Develop personalised eating plans for chronic diseases
  • Deliver group nutrition education sessions
  • Sort out nutrition fact from fiction
  • Undertake nutrition and food research
  • Develop nutrition communications, programs and policies.
We all want to take better care of our health and understand how food can help, but knowing how to do this can be a challenge. An APD can help you overcome this challenge by assessing your health and nutrition status and translating scientific information about nutrition into practical advice, so that you can make positive change to your eating habits. An APD can help you to:

  • Control your diabetes or choose low GI food
  • Manage your weight and relationship with food
  • Manage your food allergy or intolerance
  • Optimise sports performance
  • Lower your blood pressure or cholesterol
  • Implement a therapeutic diet following surgery or hospital admission
  • Ensure your child or teenager is meeting their nutritional requirements
  • Plan a balanced diet if you need to have texture-modified food
  • Ensure you’re meeting your nutrition targets for vitamins, minerals and other key nutrients
  • Learn how to read food labels when shopping and choose the best options when eating out.

As an Accredited Practising Dietitian, I am dedicated to offering a service to my clients that is based on the most up-to-date information and evidence. My aim is to equip my clients with the knowledge and skills so you can achieve your health, fitness and wellness goals in a sustainable way.

Nutrition Services I offer Include:

  • Gastrointestinal Health, IBS, FODMAPS, IBD, Diverticulitis, Coeliac Disease, read more here
  • Food Intolerances and Allergies
  • Fatty Liver and Cirrhosis
  • Diabetes, Pre-diabetes, PCOS, Metabolic Syndrome, read more here
  • Eating Disorders, Body Image and Chronic Dieting, read more here
  • Heart Health, High Blood pressure, High Cholesterol
  • Mental Health – anxiety, depression, managing medication associated weight issues
  • Weight Concerns – under and overweight, read more here
  • General Health and wellbeing
  • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and women’s health, read more here
  • Thyroid and Adrenal issues
  • Children’s Nutrition, Fussy eating, Growth concerns, ADHD/Autism, read more here
  • Sports Nutrition – Nutrition for performance and Athletes with eating disorders
  • NDIS – Self managed and Plan managed clients

For more information about my treatment approach and philosophy please visit my About page here

The best gift you are ever going to give someone – the permission to feel safe in their own skin. To feel worthy. To feel like they’re enough.”

Hannah Brechner

“I intend to accept my body today, love my body tomorrow, and appreciate my body always.”

Orange

Psych Solutions

14 Sale St Orange
Tel: 02 6360 3551
http://www.mtpsychsolutions.net.au

Hours
Monday: 9:00am to 5:00pm
Tuesday: 8:30am to 3:30pm

 

Dubbo

Dubbo Health Hub

205 Darling Street Dubbo
Tel: 02 6884 1804
https://dubbohealthhub.com.au

Hours
Wednesdays 8:30 to 5:00pm
Thursday: 8:30am to 5.00pm

 

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Accredited Practising Dietitian
ANZAED Member