Below are six common indications that a referral to a nutritionist may be appropriate for clients working with a mental health therapist.
Highly Stressed
As a mental health therapist, you play a pivotal role in helping your clients to manage stress. If stress is severe and prolonged it may eventually lead to a stress-induced health breakdown. Stress increases the body’s need for nutrients while often decreasing the amount of time, energy, and motivation a client has to take care of themself. A nutritionist will recommend impactful, tangible nutrition interventions for your client that will increase their nutrient intake without adding additional stress to their plate (no pun intended).
Multiple Medications
Some nutritional side effects of medications include micronutrient depletion and interactions, changes to appetite, weight fluctuations, changes to insulin sensitivity, and changes to the microbiome of the individual. Many of these side effects have mental health implications. A nutritionist will coordinate care with other healthcare providers and minimize the negative side effects of medications through nutritional interventions.
Signs of Hormonal Imbalance
Does your female client complain of worsening psychiatric symptoms, pain, and other side effects surrounding their period? Does your client complain of consistently low energy, motivation or sex drive? All of these things are potential indications of an underlying hormonal imbalance. In these cases, treatment of the underlying imbalance is essential to improving the client’s mindset and outlook. A nutritionist can suggest appropriate testing for your client based on their symptoms and refer to other healthcare practitioners when necessary.
Trouble Sleeping
Difficulty falling asleep and waking up in the middle of the night is often attributed to one’s inability to “turn off” their thoughts, however, sleep disruptions can also be caused by nutritional issues including low intake of essential minerals, like magnesium, and low blood sugar in the middle of the night. A nutritionist can offer dietary and supplement recommendations that will prepare the body for restful sleep.
Major Depressive Disorder
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a risk factor for a multitude of other health conditions including cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in developed countries. When both MDD and CVD are present, the prognosis for both conditions worsens. A nutritionist can assess your client’s risk factors for developing CVD, including family history, stress, current diet, lifestyle, and inflammatory biomarkers and suggest nutritional and lifestyle recommendations to minimize future health risks.
Worsened Later in Life
Older adults have a greater risk of nutrient deficiency due to decreased appetite and absorption of essential micronutrients. Other factors, like living alone may decrease one’s desire to cook for themself, potentially leading to inadequate nutrient intake. If your client’s psychiatric symptoms first developed or worsened at an older age, a nutritionist can rule out and/ or correct and underlying nutrient deficiencies that could be contributing to their condition.
Nutritionist Support
While there are many reasons working with a nutritionist can benefit your clients, these are just a few common concerns you may encounter among your clients that a nutritionist can help your client to work through. Here are other ways in which working with a nutritionist will support your clients in health. A nutritionist will….
- Encourage your clients to get a very complete physical examination if they haven’t had one since their symptoms began.
- Check personal and family history thoroughly for disease risk for both mental health conditions and other medical conditions
- Review of current prescription, over-the-counter and alternative medications, and any recent changes
- Recommend laboratory and diagnostic testing when appropriate. Performing a complete blood count, metabolic panel, urinalysis, stool analysis, and micronutrient testing will help to rule out if psychiatric symptoms may have a medical or nutritional root cause
If you want to learn more about how you can optimize mental wellness through nutrition and lifestyle check out the clinical nutrition services offered at Terra Counseling and Consulting.