A new free training course, hosted between April 3rd-5th, will explore how maintaining a healthy and well-balanced diet can improve mental health and wellbeing.
Throughout the three-day virtual course, Dr Vicki Steine, an expert on holistic nutrition, will explore the impacts of nutrition on mental health, explain how to utilise food to improve the symptoms of mental health disorders, and share tips for incorporating nutritious foods into any diet.
The course will also provide clinicians, therapists, and social workers with practical tips on how to effectively integrate nutrition knowledge into their practice. After attending, clinicians can become certified as a Mental Health & Nutrition Clinical Specialist as the content they will learn meets the required qualifications for certification.
Proper nutrition is a vital resource to maintain good mental health as it nourishes both the brain and the gut.
Researchers across the sector have also found that poor nutrition is a major contributing factor in poor overall health, as well as mental health. In fact, they assert that consistently eating nutritious and varied foods that are diverse in vitamins and minerals, and contain enough fibre, can help foster positive mental health.
Facilitated by PESI, over the three days, attendees will learn:
- How foods can affect moods and contribute to health
- The science behind nutrition, diet and culinary medicine as well as popular supplements and herbal medicine
- Simple screening tools to identify nutritional deficiencies contributing to mental health disorders
- How to conduct nutritional assessments using integrative approaches
- Clinical applications for comprehensive non-pharmaceutical treatment plans and protocols
Hails Keene, manager of the event for PESI, said: “We have known for some time that food and mental health are intrinsically intertwined. As a clinician, seeking opportunities to enhance your knowledge about nutrition and broaden your skillset is one of the best ways of ensuring you have as many strategies as possible to support your clients. And Dr. Steine is the master of explaining the research in a comprehensive, thoughtful way that will leave you with practical takeaways you can immediately use.”