Care Coordination

Effective Treatment Takes a Team of Providers

The specialty focus of JA Nutrition Therapy is to work with clients who are struggling with eating disorder/disordered eating recovery (including weight loss diet recovery). In this process a team approach is the preferred standard of care for outpatient treatment.

This means that I work on eating disorder specialist treatment teams, i.e. I rarely see clients as the sole outpatient provider.

The role of a registered dietitian/nutritionist (RDN) as part of the eating recovery team works most effectively with a therapist who is also an eating disorder specialist.

When indicated, referrals to add additional treatment team members such as a specialist PCP, family therapist, medication prescriber, dentist, etc. will be provided. For teen clients a family therapist who has expertise in treating eating disorders is often essential in the recovery process.

Prior to or at our initial appointment, it is essential to set a plan for a complete treatment team. Many prospective clients are already in outpatient care with a therapist who may or may not be a specialist in eating disorder recovery. It is essential for a high functioning team to have all or many of the providers have the eating disorder specialty, in my opinion, which means I may not be the best fit for your team if you prefer to work with a therapist who does not specialize in this type of recovery process who is experienced in working with RDN’s. Some therapists will allow multiple therapists to be involved on the team, however that decision is up to the mental health providers.

There are many options in the Portland/OR/WA area for therapists and other providers who have this specialty here http://www.CREDN.org. I am able to work with both teen and adult clients.

For clients who seek care for Type 1, Type 2 Diabetes, Pre-Diabetes, or PCOS – it is more typical for a RDN provider to work on a team that includes your primary health care provider only and may not require a therapist on the team to be most effective. However, please note that addressing food and blood glucose issues is much more challenging than many people appreciate. It is so much more complicated than following a set of guidelines. For this reason, a therapist or other specialist provider may be recommended as part of the treatment team if indicated in our sessions.

I will coordinate care with your therapist or PCP providers either via secure fax or secure email. I am able to send HIPPA secure notes to providers after a Release of Information Authorization (ROI) form is signed. For clients in care for eating disorder treatment, a secure email of the nutrition note is sent to the therapist following each session. For the PCP or specialist health care providers faxed notes are sent.